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 . Read more : Israel eyes Lebanon after drone downed . `` 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 . '' Read more : Israel 's red line not in line with U.S. view . 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 wo n'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 . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
Israel needs a ` ` responsible budget with a long - term vision , '' Netanyahu says . A general election should take place as soon as possible , the prime minister says . Netanyahu says the election will help Israel face its economic and social challenges . Israel was not due to hold elections for another year .