In a surprise development, Israel is moving to national elections this fall, more than a year ahead of schedule.

And the result — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a heavy favorite — could affect the US presidential race.

Netanyahu’s Likud party yesterday introduced a measure calling for the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to dissolve. It has the support of the other major parties, so elections for a new Knesset likely will be held Sept. 4.

Although largely prompted by domestic developments, the election — not surprisingly — also will be seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s hard line on Iran’s nuclear threat.

He’s made no secret of his deep skepticism of the Obama administration’s diplomacy-and-sanctions approach.

And he’s right to be skeptical, of course.

Iran, after all, is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear-weapons capability.

And Tehran likewise has made no secret of its lust to liquidate the state of Israel.

US intelligence officials pretend Iran isn’t seeking to actually build nukes, while some political analysts suggest its rhetoric is mere bluster.

But those aren’t assumptions any responsible Israeli leader can safely make.

Which is why Netanyahu continually raises the possibility of an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran probably won’t be a major issue in the Israeli campaign, in which Netanyahu, riding high in the polls, is aided by a seriously splintered opposition.

But it almost certainly will surface, and in a big way, in the fall contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney — as will the issue of US support for Israel generally under this administration.

And the question will have to be asked as to which candidate is better prepared — or, perhaps more to the point, willing — to work with a freshly re-elected, politically strengthened Netanyahu to nullify the Iranian threat.

One way or another. (Copyright 2012 NYP Holdings, Inc. 05/03/12)