Israeli elections called: Netanyahu's coalition to dissolve, with ballot in April

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo / AP file

Israel's Government did the expected by falling apart.

Coalition faction leaders voted unanimously to dissolve Parliament and call early elections for April 9.

Elections originally were scheduled for November 2019, but no Israeli coalition in the past 30 years has served out its term.

Speculation has been rife for months that the current government would fall, too, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces multiple corruption allegations.

"We seek a clear mandate from the electorate to continue to lead Israel on our path," Netanyahu said at a hastily scheduled news conference.

He gave no specific reason for disbanding the Government other than to seek a fresh mandate from voters, predicting that his current government would be "the core of the next coalition".

The Government has been living on borrowed time since Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned in November, leaving the coalition with the thinnest of parliamentary majorities - 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats.

Polls have suggested a new vote won't produce a significantly changed Parliament, with Netanyahu projected to win a fifth term - his fourth straight - despite the corruption investigations. The Prime Minister has convinced his base that he's the victim of a political witchhunt conducted by leftists and the media to topple his conservative government.

Channel 10 reported last week that the state prosecutor's office believes there's enough evidence to indict Netanyahu in at least one of the three corruption cases in which police have recommended he be charged.

"Obviously Netanyahu has realised this is a serious threat and the last thing he needs in the midst of an election campaign is the attorney-general deciding to prosecute him," said Reuven Hazan, a Hebrew University political scientist.

"He wants to pre-empt this, he wants to win and he wants to turn around to the attorney-general and say, 'Before you decide to prosecute me, pay attention: The people of Israel have elected me for a fourth time. You cannot overturn the results of a democratic election'."

Police say there's evidence the Prime Minister committed bribery and traded regulatory favours in exchange for positive media coverage. The cases are the most sprawling set of corruption scandals in Israel's 70-year history, and the greatest political threat Netanyahu has faced.

"He's vulnerable. Now our job is to convince people that the change they're looking for is us," said Merav Michaeli, a legislator from the opposition Zionist Union camp.

Hazan said that even if Netanyahu comes out on top in the vote, the corruption investigations will likely be a key factor in negotiations towards forming a new government.

"It's more than likely that he's going to ask each party, will they support him if the attorney-general decides to indict," Hazan said. "I don't think any party that says no will be part of the coalition."

The Justice Ministry said its work on the Netanyahu cases would continue as planned despite the new election timetable.

- Bloomberg