Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu called for an early election after failing to agree on a
budget with his coalition partners, saying the vote should be held "as
soon as possible" for the good of the country.
In a televised
announcement Tuesday, Netanyahu said the election was necessary to
ensure "a responsible security and economic policy" in the face of the
economic downturn and threats to Israel's security from Iran and
elsewhere.
The election will ideally happen in three months' time, he said, rather than in October 2013, as originally scheduled.
"It is my obligation as the prime minister to put the national interest above everything else," Netanyahu said.
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"So I have decided that it is in the best interest for the state of Israel to go to elections now and as soon as possible."
Netanyahu said he had
concluded after talks with the heads of the other parties in his
coalition that it was not currently possible to pass a "responsible
budget with a long-term outlook" for Israel.
"We are at the start of
an election year and I am sorry that during an election year it is
difficult for parties to put the national interest above the party
interest," he said.
"The result of this
could be the breaking of the budget and a massive increase in the
deficit which will force us very quickly into the position of the
economies that are disintegrating in Europe. I won't let that happen
here."
Researchers at the Bank
of Israel predicted in September that Israel's economic growth this year
would come in at 3.3%, versus 3.0% next year. Inflation through the end
of the third quarter of 2013 was forecast to be 2.6%.
According to Israel's
Haaretz newspaper, the planned budget included between 13 and 15 billion
shekels in cuts, with wage reductions for public sector workers and
infrastructure projects to be slashed. The Jerusalem Post said the
proposed cuts totaled between 15 billion and 17 billion shekels.
Two coalition partners,
the ultra-Orthodox party Shas and Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Lieberman's
nationalist party, were against cuts being imposed on lower earners,
including young families and families with many children.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, leader of the Independence Party, was against any cuts in the defense budget.
Without those three
coalition partners on board, Netanyahu had little chance of getting the
budget through the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
Netanyahu hopes his
right-wing Likud party will come out of the snap election with more
seats in the Knesset and a stronger hold on the coalition.
The centrist political faction Kadima, led by Shaul Mofaz, may lose out in a new vote.
Outlining the security
challenges currently facing Israel, Netanyahu said: "We have to ensure
Iran does not get nuclear weapons, guard our borders from terror and
migration, to guard the peace agreements with our neighbors, to stand on
the vital interests in all future negotiations for peace and to ensure a
dynamic and growing economy that will guard the work place for the
citizens of Israel."
Iran has repeatedly
insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian energy
purposes only. But it has rebuffed demands to halt its production of
enriched uranium, and a 2011 report by the United Nations' nuclear
watchdog found "credible" information that Tehran has carried out work
toward nuclear weapons -- including tests of possible bomb components.
Speaking before the
United Nations General Assembly this year, Netanyahu said time was
quickly running out to find a diplomatic solution to the impasse.
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