Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, has called an early general election, saying it should be held "as fast as possible".

The polls had been due to take place in October 2013 and Israeli press reports suggested the vote would be held in late January or mid February.

"My duty as prime minister is to put the national interest before everything, and so I've decided that for the good of Israel we must go to an election now as fast as possible," Netanyahu said on Tuesday, without giving a date for what will be a vote for Israel's 19th parliament, or Knesset.