Benjamin Netanyahu calls election

The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called an early general election on 4 September, and opinion polls predict he will win.

"My intention is to form as wide a coalition as possible to bring about stability and lead Israel in the face of the great challenges still ahead of us," Mr Netanyahu said.

An election was not due until October 2013. New legislation and a budget debate threatened to unravel a coalition once seen as one of the most stable in Israel's history.

AP