Netanyahu says no government without Haredi draft law: Israeli media
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Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid states that war cabinet minister Benny Gantz should pull his National Unity party out of the occupation government if the Haredi draft law is passed this week.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Berlin on March 16, 2023. (AFP)
The Israeli Kan public broadcaster reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notified ministers in his Likud party that he won't give up on the controversial Haredi draft law, as without it there would be no "government".
Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant has expressed criticism toward his coalition members for their reluctance to display "flexibility" concerning the matter of granting blanket exemptions from the IOF to the ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews, as the deadline for introducing new legislation approaches.
“This coming Tuesday, a proposal for a decision on the recruitment issue will be brought to the government by the prime minister, on his initiative,” he stressed. “My position has not changed. I will not be a party to any proposal that isn’t agreed upon by all coalition factions — and under my leadership, the security system will not submit it for legislation.”
This comes as Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid states that war cabinet minister Benny Gantz should pull his National Unity party out of the occupation government if the Haredi draft law is passed this week.
“If the conscription law passes on Tuesday, Gantz and [minister Gadi] Eisenkot should leave the government,” he told the Israeli Kan.
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A report on Sunday by Channel 12 says it also stipulates that the process of passing a conscription law will only begin at the end of June before a Knesset recess. The planned legislation will be discussed next Tuesday among ministers.
The revelation marks yet another road bump in the IOF's efforts to bolster their ranks after suffering substantial losses in the Gaza Strip and the northern front. Moreover, Gallant insisted that any future conscription law that he intends to submit for ratification should garner the support of all war cabinet members.
Crises within Israeli decision-making circles keep on mounting as Israeli news outlets reported on Wednesday that Netanyahu is considering the possibility of abolishing the war cabinet and referring decisions to an expanded coalition government, according to Israeli media outlets.
Israeli authorities consolidated a crucial decision-making process in a five-member council that includes Netanyahu, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, the "National Unity" leaders Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, dubbed the war cabinet.
That said, internal Israeli disputes have increased on more than one level in parallel with the ongoing Israeli genocide against Gaza for 170 days now as the occupation has failed to achieve its announced "war objectives".
Amid extreme clashes in positions and opinions regarding the administration of the war and negotiations surrounding the captives deal, the ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews refuse to be recruited in the IOF on "biblical doctrinal" grounds, which has prompted them to protest in occupied al-Quds under the slogan: "We'd rather die than serve."
