Israel ultra-Orthodox party threatens government over draft law
JERUSALEM: Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service.
Netanyahu's coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on Palestinian Islamist militants Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers — a red line for Shas.
The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution.
'We don't want to bring down a right-wing government, but we've reached our limit,' Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio.
'If there's no last-minute solution (on conscription), we'll vote to dissolve the Knesset,' he said, referring to the Israeli parliament.
Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday.
The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday's plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government.
Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority.
A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim.
Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service — currently 32 months for men — for all eligible members of the community.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
21 minutes ago
- Arab News
Macron calls for release of Gaza activists as thousands demonstrate in French cities
NICE: French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to quickly free activists, including Greta Thunberg, on a boat that was seized Monday as it headed for Gaza in an operation that sparked angry protests in several European cities. Tens of thousands of people staged rallies after Israel stopped the boat, the Madleen, that was carrying 12 activists. In France, rallies in Paris and at least five other cities were called by left wing parties. Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the France Unbowed (LFI) party, called the seizure of the Gaza boat by the Israeli military 'international piracy.' In Switzerland, several hundred people blocked train stations in Geneva and Lausanne to protest Israel's military operations in Gaza, media reports said. Some 300 protesters carrying Palestinian flags occupied two tracks at Geneva's main station for about an hour, leading to delays and cancellations, the reports said. A similar protest was staged in nearby Lausanne, where police cleared the tracks. Macron, meanwhile, urged the immediate liberation of French nationals among the 12 activists on the vessel. Macron had 'requested that the six French nationals be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,' his office said. France was 'vigilant' and 'stands by all its nationals when they are in danger,' he added. The French government had also called on Israel to ensure the 'protection' of the activists. Macron also called the humanitarian blockade of Gaza 'a scandal' and a 'disgrace.' Israel's foreign ministry said earlier that 'all the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed,' and it expected the activists to return to their home countries. Israel has virtually sealed off Gaza as part of its military operation in the Palestinian territory since the Hamas militant group's attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Arab News
21 minutes ago
- Arab News
A convoy sets off for Gaza from North Africa to protest Israel's blockade
TUNIS, Tunisia: A convoy of buses and private cars departed for Gaza from Tunisia's capital Monday as part of efforts to spotlight Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the territory, even as Israeli authorities stopped a high-profile flotilla from landing there. The overland effort — organized independently but moved up to coincide with the flotilla — is made up of activists, lawyers and medical professionals from North Africa. It plans to traverse Tunisia, Libya and Egypt before reaching Rafah, the border crossing with Egypt that has remained largely closed since Israel's military took control of the Gaza side in May 2024. The Tunisian civil society groups behind the convoy said their aim is to demand 'the immediate lifting of the unjust siege on the strip.' They asserted that Arab governments haven't pushed enough to end the 20-month war between Israel and Hamas. After a 2½-month blockade of Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing in some basic aid last month. Experts, however, have warned of famine in the territory of over 2 million people unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. The convoy set off as the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an aid ship that set sail from Sicily earlier this month, was seized by Israeli forces in what activists said were international waters. Those aboard, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were detained. The overland convoy drew widespread attention in Tunisia and Algeria, where it began Sunday, with some people waving Palestinian flags and chanting in support of the people of Gaza. 'This convoy speaks directly to our people in Gaza and says, 'You are not alone. We share your pain and suffering,'' Yahia Sarri, one of the convoy's Algerian organizers, wrote on social media. The North African activists do not expect their convoy to be allowed into Gaza. Regardless, it provides 'a message of challenge and will,' said Saher Al-Masri, a Tunis-based Palestinian activist. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's population. The convoy plans to gather supporters in towns south of Tunis before crossing into Libya, where clashes between rival militias have turned deadlier in recent months. Organizers said they planned the land crossings with relevant authorities leading up to the convoy's departure.
Arab News
36 minutes ago
- Arab News
British parliamentarians demand sanctions on Israel in letter to PM
LONDON: A group of 96 British parliamentarians have demanded sanctions on Israel in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The letter calls for the imposition of targeted sanctions, a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and a suspension of the trade agreement between the two countries. 'We write to express our grave concern over the relentless violence against Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian territory and urge the United Kingdom to respond to Israel's widespread and systematic violations of international law,' it says. Citing escalating Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the letter warns that recent British decisions to sanction settler organizations linked to human rights abuses 'fall short of what is needed.' The UK also risks complicity in Israeli violations of international law due to 'continued diplomatic and economic transactions, and ties with Israeli institutions and settler organizations,' it adds. The signatories called on the government to 'move beyond sanctioning individual settlers but sanction state officials, including ministers, and introduce sanctions in respect of the State of Israel.' The UK must also implement a total ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the letter says, adding that such a move is mandatory based on decisions by the International Court of Justice and the UN, of which the UK is a member state, with both organizations clearly defining settlement-building in the occupied territories as illegal. London should also suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, the signatories said, citing the deal's highlighting of respect for human rights as an 'essential element.' Israel's breaching of that term means the UK has the 'legal right to suspend or terminate its provisions, in whole or in part,' the letter says. The Council for Arab-British Understanding's head of parliamentary affairs, Joseph Willits, said: 'This letter shows that there is increasing parliamentary support for the UK to take tougher action against Israel. 'As Palestinians face violent erasure, including Israeli imposed genocide, starvation and ethnic cleansing, the UK government simply is not doing enough, and an increasing number of parliamentarians are also coming to this realization. 'What will it take for UK government action to match up with the horrifying situation and systemic violence on the ground, and to act on what parliamentarians, the British public, and most importantly, Palestinians have long been saying?'
