Haredi parties boycott Knesset over delayed military exemption bill
This full boycott marks an escalation from their previous partial legislative protest, during which they refused to vote on private members' bills advanced by coalition partners.
Senior UTJ officials told Israel Hayom that Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein 'is not providing a draft [of the bill],' which they interpret as a retreat from previous agreements. 'The ultra-Orthodox parties will not be able to sit and vote with a coalition that supports such a law,' they said.
Edelstein reportedly showed a Haredi representative a softened version of the conscription bill, but only in the form of a general outline, not a full draft, according to "Israel's" Channel 12.
A senior UTJ source told The Times of Israel that Edelstein's presentation was "nonsense", adding that they were still waiting for a serious legislative proposal.
A member of Edelstein's committee told The Times of Israel that a draft of the revised bill was expected to be presented on Monday, though no official confirmation had been issued.
The ongoing boycott may delay the appointment of UTJ MK Yisrael Eichler as housing minister, reflecting the potential political cost of the internal coalition rift.
Read more: Haredi parties push for Knesset dissolution, call PM 'a burden'
In a related context, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri criticized opposition Leader Yair Lapid for comments accusing the Haredi leadership of hypocrisy.
Lapid had claimed that Haredi politicians were willing to send others' children to fight while ensuring their own were exempt from service.
During his Yesh Atid faction's weekly meeting, Lapid condemned the exemption push, naming Deri and committee member Yaakov Asher (UTJ), saying they 'have no problem sending [reserve] soldiers to go fight and die on one condition: that their own children not die.'
Deri responded with a sharp rebuttal, claiming that 'the percentage of soldiers who serve and risk their lives among Shas voters is higher than among your party's voters.'
He accused Lapid of inciting against an entire community, calling his remarks 'serious and false incitement.'
He called on Lapid to retract what he described as an 'inflammatory slur'.
This standoff highlights the broader political friction over the contentious issue of yeshiva student conscription, which continues to threaten coalition unity.
Read more: Eisenkot to resign from Knesset, leave Gantz' party over differences
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LBCI
an hour ago
- LBCI
Orban says Trump 'ate' EU chief 'for breakfast' in trade talks
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday lashed out at a trade deal the EU reached with the United States, saying the agreement is "worse" than the deal Britain clinched. "Donald Trump did not reach an agreement with Ursula von der Leyen, but rather Donald Trump ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast," Orban said during a Facebook livestream hosted by his party's spokesperson.
L'Orient-Le Jour
an hour ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
UN to use Israel's pause to try to reach Gaza's starving
The United Nations said it would try to reach as many starving people as possible in Gaza after Israel announced it would establish secure land routes for humanitarian convoys. The U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) said it had enough food in, or on its way to, the region to feed the 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip for almost three months. U.N. emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said the United Nations would try to reach "as many starving people as we can" in the time window. Israel on Sunday began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the U.N. and aid agencies to tackle the deepening hunger crisis. "We welcome Israel's decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for U.N. humanitarian convoys," Fletcher said in a statement. Fletcher said some movement restrictions appeared to have been eased on Sunday, citing initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads of aid were collected. "But we need sustained action, and fast, including quicker clearances for convoys going to the crossing and dispatching into Gaza; multiple trips per day to the crossings so we and our partners can pick up the cargo; safe routes that avoid crowded areas; and no more attacks on people gathering for food." The U.N. aid chief said the world was calling out for life-saving humanitarian assistance to get through – but stressed that "vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis." "Ultimately, of course, we don't just need a pause – we need a permanent cease-fire," he added. No shootings near convoys pledge WFP said the pauses and corridors should allow emergency food to be safely delivered. "Food aid is the only real way for most people inside Gaza to eat," it said in a statement. It said a third of the population had not been eating for days, and 470,000 people in Gaza "are enduring famine-like conditions" that were leading to deaths. WFP said more than 62,000 tons of food assistance were needed monthly to cover the entire Gaza population of two million. The agency noted that, on top of Sunday's "pause" announcement, Israel had pledged to allow more trucks to enter Gaza with quicker clearances along with "assurances of no armed forces or shootings near convoys." "Together, we hope these measures will allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays," it said. 'Dystopian landscape' U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said Israel, as the occupying power in Gaza, was obliged to ensure sufficient food was provided to the population. "Children are starving and dying in front of our eyes. Gaza is a dystopian landscape of deadly attacks and total destruction," he said in a statement. He criticised a U.S.- and Israel-backed outfit, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), that in late May began distributing foodstuffs when U.N.-organised efforts were blocked. Turk said the GHF's "chaotic, militarised distribution sites were "failing utterly to deliver humanitarian aid at the scope and scale needed." His office says Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations – nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites.
LBCI
14 hours ago
- LBCI
Israel approves daily humanitarian truce in Gaza amid growing international pressure
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian Facing unprecedented international pressure to halt the war and warnings from security and military officials about the impact of spreading images of killing and starvation among Gaza's children, the Israeli prime minister approved a daily humanitarian truce in Gaza from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This decision was seen by some ministers as a concession to Hamas. Meanwhile, the prisoner exchange deal — expected to mark the beginning of the end of the war — still faces many complexities and obstacles. In response to the stalling of the prisoner deal, voices of soldiers refusing to serve in Gaza have grown louder. Calls have also emerged going beyond the demand for an immediate and comprehensive prisoner exchange, reaching toward ending the suffering of Gaza's people and stopping the 'war of starvation.' Three hundred forty-one academics signed a document calling for an immediate end to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and for allowing humanitarian aid to enter. They made a striking demand for what they called setting ethical limits for the army. This sparked widespread criticism after military officials confirmed that artillery fire would not stop in Gaza. After Hamas announced its readiness to show flexibility in the prisoner exchange negotiations, some expected Israel's permission for the United Arab Emirates to prepare to build a water pipeline to Gaza to mark a turning point in the war, which will enter its third year in three months.
