In a preliminary vote, the Israeli Knesset passed a motion to dissolve itself by 61 to 54 Dec. 2. Lawmakers from the Blue and White Party headed by Benny Gantz supported the motion, which will now move to the Knesset committee for debate this week before a first reading.
Following the vote, the prime minister scheduled a prime-time press conference in which he accused his partners in the government, Gantz and the rest of the Blue and White, of violating the coalition agreement in dissolving the Knesset. Though everything about the content and timing was business as usual for Benjamin Netanyahu, the media outlets did something unheard of: they fact-checked Netanyahu’s speech and respond to inaccuracies in real time. News 13 ran a graphic comparing the prime minister’s claims and the facts.