Israeli parliament moves forward bill to dissolve

A vote on a bill to dissolve the parliament is held at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 22, 2022. Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to dissolve parliament in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, taking the first step in sending the country for its fifth elections in three years. (JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to dissolve parliament in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, taking the first step in sending the country for its fifth elections in three years.

The vote, the first in a series of four votes before the formal dissolution of the parliament, gained an overwhelming majority of 110 lawmakers in the 120-member parliament.

The final vote is expected to take place next week.

The motion was presented two days after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his main partner Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced they were disbanding their coalition government, which is made up of eight ideological diverse parties, only a year after its inauguration.

The coalition has been struggling for its political survival since it lost majority in the parliament in April.

The historic government, which ousted Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, included for the first time in Israel's history an Arab party, alongside right-wing and pro-settler parties and Dovish liberals. 

A vote on a bill to dissolve the parliament is held at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 22, 2022. Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to dissolve parliament in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, taking the first step in sending the country for its fifth elections in three years. (JINI via Xinhua)

A vote on a bill to dissolve the parliament is held at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 22, 2022. Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to dissolve parliament in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, taking the first step in sending the country for its fifth elections in three years. (JINI via Xinhua)

A vote on a bill to dissolve the parliament is held at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 22, 2022. Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to dissolve parliament in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, taking the first step in sending the country for its fifth elections in three years. (JINI via Xinhua)