The final readings of a bill to dissolve the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, was passed by Israeli lawmakers on Thursday, paving the way for snap elections scheduled for November 1.
With no opposition, 92 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill to dissolve the Knesset.
Last week, the Knesset voted in the preliminary reading to dissolve itself, and earlier this week, it voted in favor of the bill in the first reading.
Due to disagreements between the government and opposition lawmakers, the second and third readings were postponed twice this week.
Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the Knesset, blamed the government of Naftali Bennett for hikes in prices and the high cost of living.
As the leader of the right-wing Likud Party, Netanyahu vowed to form a government that “returns the country to its rightful path.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will become the caretaker premier until a new cabinet is formed after the upcoming elections, according to a recent agreement with Bennett. Announcing that he will not stand in the upcoming polls, Bennett will become an alternate prime minister for Lapid.
Although it is still unable to reach the threshold of 61 votes out of 120 required to form a government, public opinion polls in Israel indicate the superiority of the right-wing Likud party headed by Netanyahu.
The upcoming elections are the fifth in less than four years. Despite his party’s victory in the elections, Netanyahu failed four times to form a government during this period.
