SHAKE-UP

Israel to Dissolve Parliament, Hold Early Elections in April

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces calls to step down amid a series of corruption probes.

After months of political discord over a military conscription bill, Israel is set to dissolve its parliament and hold early elections in April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Monday. “The leaders of the coalition decided unanimously to dissolve parliament and go to a new election in early April,” a spokesman for Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. Elections will now be held on April 9 instead of in November 2019 as originally planned. The decision was reportedly made after coalition heads met to discuss disagreements over legislation concerning exemptions from compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. But Netanyahu has also been under fire recently amid a series of corruption probes, with police calling for him to be indicted in an ongoing fraud case. The attorney general is said to still be reviewing that case, though many saw the mounting scrutiny of the Israeli leader as a sign he may use the ballot box to seek a public show of confidence.

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