A bill to dissolve the 24th Knesset was passed in a preliminary reading on Wednesday.

The bill still needs to pass two committee readings and three more votes before becoming law and dispersing the Knesset, a move that most coalition members are hoping will happen by Monday.

On the other hand, members of the opposition and several members of the Yamina party are making extensive efforts to form an alternative government in the current Knesset and therefore are hoping the delay the final vote on the bill.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yamina MK Nir Orbach told Arutz Sheva that the Likud is holding negotiations on forming a coalition with Interior Ayelet Shaked, UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar.

Orbach, who is the chairman of the Knesset’s House Committee, giving him considerable power over the legislative process, said that he does not plan on fast-tracking the bill through the committee, allowing the opposition a longer period of time to form a government.

Opposition members are also hoping to avoid allowing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to serve as prime minister during an election season.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)