Opposition fails to dissolve Israel’s parliament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government narrowly survived an opposition-led motion to dissolve parliament, according to Al-Monitor on June 11th.

The vote, held in the early hours of the morning, saw 61 Knesset members oppose the dissolution bill while 53 supported it. The opposition had hoped to trigger snap elections by exploiting growing tensions between Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners over the controversial issue of military conscription exemptions.

Although the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s stance on conscription, the vote revealed that only a handful of their lawmakers backed the motion. The opposition will now have to wait six months before it can attempt another dissolution effort.

The ultra-Orthodox exemption has come under increased scrutiny as the war in Gaza continues. Calls to broaden the Israel Defense Forces’ recruitment pool has intensified.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that enlisting ultra-Orthodox men is a “national and security need”.

Prior to the vote, Likud party party lawmaker and foreign affairs and defense committee chair, Yuli Edelstein, announced that parties had reached an agreement on the key principles of a future conscription law. Although details were not disclosed, Edelstein described the deal as “historic news,” and asserted it would lead to “real reform” and an expanded military recruitment base.

Edelstein had put forward legislation aiming to increase ultra-Orthodox enlistment and impose stricter penalties on those who avoid service.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the vote marked the beginning of the end for Netanyahu’s government. “When coalitions begin to fall apart, they fall apart,” he said. He added that ultra-Orthodox parties had been forced to choose between keeping their military exemptions or maintaining their place in government.

“They chose exemption,” Lapid said. “The government helped them… organize the exemption of tens of thousands of healthy young people.”

Opposition parties had earlier announced that they would suspend all legislative activity in order to focus entirely on removing the Netanyahu government.

Smotrich warned against destabilizing the government during wartime, calling such a move an “existential danger” to Israel’s future. “History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war,” he said.

Al-Monitor