After Lando\u2019s announcement, UTJ\u2019s second faction, the three-MK Agudat Yisrael, indicated that it would support the dissolution of the Knesset should it come to a vote. \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting a long time to disperse,\u201d an Agudat Yisrael source told The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n
UTJ, a core member when Netanyahu assembled his coalition after the 2022 elections, formally pulled out of the government and the coalition last year in the protracted dispute over the legislation. To pass, however, a vote to dissolve the Knesset would need to be backed not only by all other opposition parties, but also by the fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which has 11 MKs, and which did not immediately make its position clear.<\/p>\n
\t The decision by the UTJ factions was made after Netanyahu told\u00a0<\/a>Haredi MKs last week that the coalition currently doesn\u2019t have the votes to pass the draft-exemption legislation, and reportedly asked them to agree to shelve the bill until after the elections. Since the beginning of the government\u2019s tenure in December 2022, Netanyahu had repeatedly assured his Haredi partners that the legislation would be passed.<\/p>\n Channel 13 news quoted Lando as having also called Netanyahu a \u201cliar\u201d during Tuesday\u2019s meeting with Degel HaTorah representatives. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to suck it up time after time for the bloc [with Netanyahu], but they don\u2019t understand. No more words from Netanyahu, only actions. Even if Netanyahu comes to me now and tells me one plus one equals two, I won\u2019t believe him anymore. He is a conman.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kan public broadcaster quoted an unnamed source in the Haredi parties as saying: \u201cNetanyahu has been duping us for two years. You can\u2019t keep trusting someone who fools you time after time.\u201d<\/p>\n The draft exemption bill is unpopular among the premier\u2019s own voters, especially given the demands on the IDF\u2019s standing army and its reservists since the eruption of a multi-front conflict after Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, massacring 1,200 people. The IDF\u2019s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has repeatedly warned that the IDF faces \u201ccollapse\u201d if more manpower is not recruited. Some 80,000 young ultra-Orthodox men are currently eligible for service but have not been drafted.<\/p>\n The Haredi parties are widely reported to favor advancing elections to September 15, two days after Rosh Hashanah, assessing that the presence of students at yeshivas at the start of the school year, as well as potential voters attending Selichot rituals, will allow them to effectively canvas for votes and maximize their support.<\/p>\n For his part, Netanyahu is believed to want to avoid an election date close to the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas invasion and slaughter. Some reports Tuesday claimed he wants to hold the vote on October 20 or 27, which would be as late as possible, in order to maximize his prospects for achieving more definitive success in the conflicts with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, a strong showing by the Haredi polls in an election held in September might ultimately benefit Netanyahu since, for all their threats, UTJ and Shas have long been allied with Netanyahu and would not easily find support among the anti-Netanyahu parties for their demands for ongoing draft evasion. As things stand, Netanyahu could claim during the election campaign to have prevented the draft-evasion bill, but rebuild a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox if returned to power.<\/p>\n Shas\u2019s official position is unclear<\/p>\n While the other ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, also resigned its government roles last year, it has continued to support the coalition in the Knesset, thus far staving off early elections. On Monday, the Israel Hayom daily reported that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri opposes passing the military exemption bill before the elections, and had asked Netanyahu to delay it, although Deri denied this report.<\/p>\n \t A spokesman for Shas did not respond to an inquiry sent by The Times of Israel on Tuesday morning. An unconfirmed Channel 12 report on Tuesday evening said Shas would support dissolving the Knesset.<\/p>\n Still, a spokesman for Lando insisted that \u201ccontrary to various reports, there is complete and absolute consensus and cooperation between Degel HaTorah and Shas regarding the course of action concerning the status of yeshiva students.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate statement, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni cited Lando\u2019s statement as a binding instruction that would guide the faction\u2019s actions going forward.<\/p>\n Opposition seeks to fast-track dissolution<\/p>\n Following Lando\u2019s decision, opposition party Yesh Atid said it had petitioned Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to convene a special Knesset presidium meeting later Tuesday to fast-track a bill to vote on dissolving the Knesset on Wednesday.<\/p>\n In a letter to Ohana, MK Merav Ben-Ari wrote that \u201cdue to the change in circumstances and the support of Degel HaTorah members for dissolving the Knesset, I request that a Knesset presidium meeting be held by telephone already today to advance the bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset tomorrow in the plenum.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple opposition lawmakers also submitted bills earlier on Tuesday to dissolve the Knesset, including from Yair Golan\u2019s Democrats party, Avigdor Liberman\u2019s Yisrael Beytenu and Mansour Abbas\u2019s Islamist party Ra\u2019am.<\/p>\n \t MK Yuli Edelstein, the ousted former chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, responded to Degel HaTorah\u2019s announcement with a pointed \u201cI told you so\u201d on X, apparently aimed at his own Likud party.<\/p>\n \u201cTo my great regret, I am forced to say today [that] I told you so,\u201d wrote Edelstein, who was removed as committee chair last August over his push to pass legislation to conscript Haredi men into the IDF and refusal to agree with Haredi demands regarding its content. Edelstein recalled on Tuesday that, at the time, he warned that replacing him would \u201cchange nothing\u201d and \u201cwould only bury the conscription law once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that is exactly what happened,\u201d Edelstein wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the outbreak of the war, I have fought for a real conscription law, but the Haredi leadership never wanted enlistment, even at the cost of toppling the right-wing government,\u201d he continued. \u201cToday, the Israeli public understands who spoke the truth and who played politics on the backs of the reservists and the serving public. I am proud that I prevented an evasion law, and I will continue to fight for a real and fair conscription law in the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Edelstein was ousted from his post amid growing pressure on Netanyahu from within Likud after Shas and UTJ bolted the government, blaming the lawmaker for his attempts to advance a version of the conscription bill that would guarantee significant draft quotas and sanctions for evaders.<\/p>\n His successor, Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, instead introduced a bill that would have provided a blanket exemption from service to almost all yeshiva students. The draft legislation was panned by critics as ineffective and full of loopholes, and was opposed by some coalition lawmakers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, several coalition MKs, led by Bismuth, on Tuesday urged their ultra-Orthodox allies not to bring down the government.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t dismantle the bloc! I worked side by side with the Haredim. I see them as partners on the path,\u201d Bismuth said in a post on X, urging them \u201cnot to throw the baby out with the bathwater\u201d and \u201cnot to give a gift\u201d to the opposition or to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has repeatedly said<\/a> the government is violating the law in not drafting the Haredim.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe law is ready and can already be advanced tomorrow,\u201d Bismuth said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have one leader steering the ship. The authority, decision-making power, and final word belong solely to Prime Minister Netanyahu,\u201d Bismuth added.<\/p>\n National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir\u2019s far-right coalition party Otzma Yehudit said in a statement that while his party \u201cis strong,\u201d going to early elections would be a mistake. \u201cWe call on the parties of the national camp to act responsibly and not bring down the government. This government still has several tasks left to complete,\u201d the party said in a statement.<\/p>\n Last year, ultra-Orthodox parties backed away from their threats for a bill to dissolve the Knesset after marathon talks netted an agreement with Edelstein. The agreement called for a softened version of a bill regulating mandatory enlistment requirements within the ultra-Orthodox community and punishing draft dodgers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F240610YS28-e1718076194525-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Knesset plenum vote on reviving an ultra-Orthodox military enlistment bill, early June 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260329YS743-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tShas chairman Aryeh Deri attends a vote on the 2026 state budget in the Knesset, March 29, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260113TG04-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tMK Yuli Edelstein speaks during a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, on January 13, 2026. (Tal Gal\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/F260224YS05-e1774857220256-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tMK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 24, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n