Orthodox Party quits Israeli cabinet but throws Netanyahu a lifeline

Business Standard

5 days ago

An ultra-Orthodox party quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Wednesday, but said it would remain within his coalition for now, giving the government more time to resolve a thorny dispute over military conscription.
Another ultra-Orthodox group abandoned the coalition on Tuesday over the deeply divisive issue, leaving Netanyahu with just a one-seat majority in parliament.
But rather than follow suit, the other ultra-Orthodox partner, Shas, said on Wednesday it would just pull its ministers from government ranks while continuing to back the coalition in parliament.
"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party had announced its full walkout.
The Shas decision means Netanyahu does not face the threat of early elections, for now, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire.
Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the problem of who should serve in the military -- a debate that has long caused huge tensions within Israel's deeply divided society.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or other partners within his increasingly splintered cabinet.
While the ultra-Orthodox parties have focused their anger on the conscription issue, far-right parties have been pressing Netanyahu not to make concessions in ceasefire talks with Hamas militants that are underway in Qatar.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich want Israel to press on with the war, but Netanyahu would still be likely to have enough cabinet votes to back any eventual ceasefire without them.
WAR WEARY
Underscoring divisions in the coalition, Shas in its statement on Wednesday urged Netanyahu to do "everything in his power" to reach a deal with Hamas.
Israelis have become increasingly weary of the 21-month war in Gaza, which began with Israel's single deadliest day on October 7, 2023, when a surprise attack by Hamas killed 1,200 and saw 251 taken hostage by the Palestinian militants.
Israel's subsequent offensive against Hamas has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population of Gaza, led to a humanitarian crisis and left much of the enclave in ruins.
It has also exacted Israel's highest military death toll in decades, with around 450 soldiers killed so far in Gaza combat.
This has added fuel to an already explosive debate over a new conscription bill that lies at the centre of the latest crisis to rattle Netanyahu's coalition, which took office in late 2022 and is due to stay in office until the autumn of 2026.
Ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service. Many Israelis are angered by what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders say full-time devotion to the study of holy scriptures is sacrosanct and fear their young men will steer away from religious life if they are drafted into the military.
Last year the Supreme Court ordered an end to the exemption.
Parliament has been trying to work out a new conscription bill, which has so far failed to meet UTJ demands.