Israeli lawmakers pass preliminary vote to dissolve Parliament

Tel Aviv, Dec 3 : Israeli lawmakers have voted in a preliminary reading in favour of a bill to dissolve Parliament, amid a coalition crisis that could force an election within two years.
The bill passed on Wednesday in a 61-54 vote, means that it still needs three more full rounds of votes in the parliament before the final approval, reports Xinhua news agency.
Yair Lapid, who sponsored the bill and also chairman of the opposition and leader of the Yesh Atid party, said on Twitter that the vote was “the first step towards a different government”.
The opposition garnered enough votes for the bill to pass its first hurdle after leader of the Blue and White party Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main coalition partner, decided to support the move.
On Tuesday, Gantz accused Netanyahu of “lying” to the public and said he had lost hope that their power-sharing government could function properly.
Speaking in a televised press conference, Gantz said he will withdraw his support of the bill only if Netanyahu agrees to approve the state budget immediately.