Bill to dissolve Knesset passes unanimously, officially beginning election recess

The Knesset plenum unanimously passed a bill early Friday morning to dissolve the 25th Knesset, officially beginning the election recess. This decision, approved by 62 votes to none, concludes the current parliamentary term and initiates the electoral process, with Israelis returning to the polls in late October. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana remarked, "I think it is fair to say that this was the most challenging Knesset in the institution's history," citing its service during the "longest and most difficult war in the country's history."

• Lawmakers approved an extensive series of bills in the final days, including a law for the remembrance of the October 7 massacre and a bill allowing ambulance transportation for women in labor.
• A controversial law establishing Torah study as a fundamental value in the Basic Law was passed, which critics argue encourages draft evasion.
• A temporary bill was also enacted to extend mandatory military service to 32 months, aiming to address IDF manpower needs, which has intensified public debate regarding ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions.
• MK Avigdor Liberman criticized the coalition's "hypocrisy" for passing both the Torah study law and the military service extension.