Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) in Jerusalem on December 19, 2018.
CNN  — 

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted Wednesday night to dissolve the government, triggering early elections scheduled for early April, nearly eight months earlier than required by law.

“The bill, which passed by a vote of 102-2 in its third (final) reading, also sets early elections for April 9, 2019,” the Knesset’s website posted.

Minister Yariv Levin, representing the government, praised the government’s past achievements, including the move of the US Embassy, during the debate with Knesset members.

“I wish to mention the Jewish Nation-State Law, one of the most important laws ever enacted by Knesset Yisrael; a foundation for the existence of the State of Israel and its character as the national home of the Jewish people,” Levin added, according to the Knesset’s website.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union Party criticized the previous government in her speech, according to the Knesset’s website.

“This is a time of emergency for the State of Israel. Israel needs a (dramatic change); it is possible and curricula for the future of the State of Israel in order to save it from the government which reigned here over the past few years,” Livni told fellow members of the Knesset. “I saw this government mock everything that democracy represents.”