Netanyahu survives opposition bid to dissolve Israeli parliament

Vote could have led to early elections that polls suggest Netanyahu's coalition would have lost

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition has survived an opposition-led effort to dissolve the parliament, after ultra-Orthodox parties in his government agreed to back down over a contentious military draft bill.

The vote, which could have been a first step leading to an early election that polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose, was rejected with 61 lawmakers opposing it to 53 supporting it.

The Knesset consists of 120 seats, and the majority needed to pass the vote was 61 lawmakers.

This gives Netanyahu's ruling coalition further time to resolve its worst political crisis yet and avoid a ballot, which would be Israel's first since the eruption of the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu has been pushing hard to resolve a deadlock in his coalition over a new military conscription bill, which has led to the present crisis.

"I am pleased to announce that after long discussions we have reached agreements on the principles on which the draft law will be based," Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Yuli Edelstein said in a statement.

Read: Netanyahu admits arming criminal groups in Gaza

Some religious parties in Netanyahu's coalition are seeking exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from military service that is mandatory in Israel, while other lawmakers want to scrap any such exemptions altogether.

The exemptions have been a hot-button issue in Israel for years but have become particularly contentious during the war in Gaza, as Israel has suffered its highest battlefield casualties in decades and its stretched military is in need of more troops.

Growing increasingly impatient with the political deadlock, ultra-Orthodox coalition factions have said they will vote with opposition parties in favour of dissolving the Knesset and bringing forward an election that is not due until late 2026.

"It's more than ever urgent to replace Netanyahu's government and specifically this toxic and harmful government," said Labour's opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli. "It's urgent to end the war in Gaza and to bring back all the hostages. It's urgent to start rebuilding and healing the state of Israel."

 

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