Israel set for early elections as coalition decides to dissolve Knesset - CNN

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition has been struggling to govern with a razor-thin majority. At a press conference at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu confirmed "the heads of the coalition parties decided, in agreement and unanimously, to disperse the Knesset and call for new elections at the beginning of April."

The speaker of the Knesset, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, will convene the heads of all parliamentary groups so a precise date can be set.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the heads of the coalition parties decided "unanimously" to hold early elections in April.

Government battling difficulties

Netanyahu's government has been battling difficulties on several fronts. A military confrontation with Palestinian militants last month followed a botched Israeli operation in Gaza that killed one of its soldiers. Seven Palestinians, including a senior Hamas military commander, also died.

An eventual ceasefire prompted the resignation of the then defense minister, Avigdor Liberman, who denounced it as a "capitulation to terror."

Israeli police say there's enough evidence to indict Benjamin Netanyahu in a third corruption case

The resignation of Liberman, the hardline leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, left the government with 61 seats -- a majority of only one seat -- in the 120-seat Knesset.

The political turbulence comes against the backdrop of criminal investigations that have hit Netanyahu and his inner circle. Israeli police say they have enough evidence to indict Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in two separate investigations. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing: "I believe nothing will come of it because there is nothing in it," he said earlier this month.

On Monday opposition member Shelly Yachimovich of the Zionist union said news of an early election produced a "sigh of relief."

"It is impossible to continue with a government whose Prime Minister is under recommendation of indictments of the state attorneys and the police for fraud," Yachimovich said.

"We can't continue with the collapsing diplomatic position. We have a whole government that is held hostage to the personal needs of the Prime minister and can't operate in this way."

Netanyahu is currently in his fourth term as Prime Minister. A national election was required under Israeli law to be held by November 2019.

Michael Schwartz reported from Jerusalem. Bianca Britton wrote from London

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