Ultra-Orthodox parties to coalition: We don’t want a draft law
The implication: heading to elections and moving forward with dissolving the Knesset • Elections are expected to take place on September 15 • This is contrary to the date the prime minister had preferred • A senior Degel HaTorah official: “There is no trust in Netanyahu”
By Amit Segal and Eli Hirschmann
Members of Knesset from Degel HaTorah were instructed Sunday by Rabbi Landau not to cooperate with legislation for the military draft law. A senior party official told N12: “There is no trust in Netanyahu”. The implication is that the legislation will most likely be shelved, and the process of dissolving the Knesset will move forward. At this stage, elections are expected to take place on September 15.
The chain of events that pushed the ultra-Orthodox parties toward seeking early elections began about two weeks ago, when Rabbi Dov Landau, leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, decided to cut off negotiations with the Likud regarding the exemption law. Netanyahu, who preferred to hold elections at their originally scheduled date, tried to rally coalition support for the legislation and even ordered discussions on the bill in the Knesset to resume.
Despite this, and despite the severe manpower shortage in the IDF, the ultra-Orthodox parties aligned themselves behind the Lithuanian leader’s demand, and the political battle shifted to the question of the election date.
As a result of the ultra-Orthodox parties’ decision, the election campaign will be shortened by six weeks compared to the original schedule, contrary to what the prime minister wanted. This means Netanyahu is heading into elections without certainty that the right-wing bloc will remain united behind him. A coalition source told N12: “The continuation of the war with Lebanon and a bad agreement with Iran are a setback ahead of the elections".