Israeli parliament vote for dissolution

parliament, or Knesset, paving the way for early elections which were called last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I’m asking to hold elections on Tuesday, January 22, 2013,” Netanyahu told the house at the start of the debate.
“In less than 100 days the people of Israel will decide who will lead them in the face of the greatest security challenges which we have known since the founding of the state; who will lead them in the face of the toughest economic crisis the world has known in the past 80 years,” he said.
President Shimon Peres also made reference to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme, which Israel and much of the West believes is an attempt to build a weapons capability, despite Tehran’s denials.
“We stand in the face of Iran’s attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he said.
MPs will debate the bill and vote on it in three readings in a lengthy session expected to run late into the night, said Yariv Levin, chairman of the Knesset’s House Committee.
“We will use an accelerated procedure which will let us vote on the bill in three readings in one day,” he told public radio.
To be adopted, the text must be approved by an absolute majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset, a parliamentary spokesman said.
Commentators say the bill is likely to be easily approved. On approval, the Knesset will be immediately dissolved and an election recess will come into force, marking the official start of a campaign which polls suggest Netanyahu and his rightwing and ultra-Orthodox allies will comfortably win.
A survey published last week by the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper found that Netanyahu and his allies were set to increase their number of seats to 68, while the opposition — comprising centrist, leftwing and Arab parties — would win just 52.
Netanyahu’s existing coalition, which includes the centrist Independence party headed by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, holds 66 seats.
The Israeli leader said his decision to call a snap election was driven by the deadlock among coalition partners over the passage of a budget packed with austerity measures.
But commentators said Netanyahu had called an early vote to capitalise on his current standing in the polls, which show him holding a commanding lead over any potential rivals for the premiership.
Meanwhile, Israel’s minister of welfare and social services and communications resigned Monday during a Likud party meeting held at the Israeli Knesset (parliament).   Moshe Kahlon, one of the coalition ruling party’s most popular rising political stars, said he intended to “take a break from politics” and not pursue reelections in the upcoming Jan. 22 elections.   “I will actively try and help the Likud because I believe in its way. I hope that the Netanyahu government will carry on the reforms it had commenced because of the expensive cost of living  there is something to do about it,” Kahlon said during the meeting.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Kahlon for his service and said that he would be happy to see him back within his party. — AFP.