Netanyahu says wants Israeli election on Sept 4

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Monday for an early general election on September 4, a vote opinion polls say will renew his leadership mandate as Israel confronts Iran's nuclear ambitions.    

"My intention is to form as wide a coalition as possible in order to bring about stability and lead Israel in the face of the great challenges still ahead of us," Netanyahu told his cabinet in public remarks.    

The next national vote was not due until October 2013, but new legislation that might force ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military and an upcoming budget debate have threatened to unravel a governing coalition of religious and nationalist parties once seen as one of the most stable in Israel's history.    

"We are in a country that needs political stability. I would be very happy if we could complete our term and that was my goal, too," Netanyahu said.    

"Regretfully this instability has put a question mark on this and so I think the right thing to do is to go for a short election. We propose September 4, and afterward, God willing, the voters will give us a mandate."    

On Sunday, Netanyahu said in a speech to a convention of his right-wing Likud party that he would seek an early vote in four months' time but did not disclose an exact date.    

Israeli leaders have insisted the election campaign would have no impact on their decision-making with regard to Iran, which includes the possibility of launching an Israeli strike against its nuclear installations.    

A Netanyahu victory two months before the U.S. election could give him leverage over Barack Obama on the Iranian and Palestinian issues while the president is still engaged in his own campaign and wary of alienating pro-Israel U.S. voters.    

While the cabinet met, the governing coalition submitted a motion of dissolution to parliament. Once parliament votes to dissolve, the current administration will remain in office until a new elected government is sworn in.      

Reuters