Israel’s elections were set for Feb. 10.
Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik announced Thursday that most of Israel’s political parties agreed on the date.
Israel’s next general election was supposed to be in 2010, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s resignation announcement in July set in a motion a chain of events leading to early elections, which will be held for the entire 120-member Knesset.
The move toward early elections came after Olmert’s successor as Kadima leader, Tzipi Livni, failed to assemble a coalition government needed to govern following her election by the party in September.
Livni announced this week that her main rival in the primary campaign, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, would be her party’s campaign chairman.
Along with Livni, the foreign minister, the main contenders for prime minister in the upcoming election are Defense Minister Ehud Barak of Labor and Likud opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Barak announced Thursday that his party will hold primary elections before the February vote.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
