Shas Party officials on Thursday announced plans to vote in favor of MK (Likud) Silvan Shalom’s bill to dissolve the Knesset. The preliminary vote of the bill is set for June 25th.

Labor, another major coalition partner, has also signaled it will support the preliminary vote, which gives the opposition a significant Knesset majority.

Labor leader Defense Minister Ehud Barak however is seeking a way out of supporting such a move, preferring a new prime minister under the current government structure over going to the polls.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)