TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition may collapse next week after one of its ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, Degel HaTorah, called for the parliament to be dissolved. A vote to dissolve the Knesset has been scheduled for next week.
Degel HaTorah said: "We have no trust in Netanyahu anymore. We must move to dissolve the parliament imminently."
The rupture followed Netanyahu telling ultra-Orthodox political leaders that he would not advance legislation to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis from military service, and that such legislation could be advanced after elections. Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox political partners have urged him to pass a new law shielding their community from the draft.
The exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from the Israeli military has been a long-running public dispute. Most Jewish Israelis are called up to serve in the military, while Israel has historically exempted young men and women from the ultra-Orthodox community to allow them to attend religious studies.
The Gaza war and the need for more soldiers has placed more political pressure on the ultra-Orthodox community to take part in military service. Last year, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis.
If the parliament dissolves, new elections will be scheduled in three months. By law, Israel must hold new elections by Oct. 27. Netanyahu would remain acting prime minister until a new government is formed after the vote, and he is seeking a new term as prime minister.
Naftali Bennett, who is running together with Yair Lapid, is a front-runner in polls seeking to unseat Netanyahu. Bennett and Lapid are among the candidates who could form a government if new elections are held.
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