Coalition heads enter last-minute scramble to avert preliminary vote to dissolve Knesset

The heads of the government coalition entered hectic last-minute negotiations in an effort to convince the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties not to approve a preliminary vote to dissolve the Knesset, which was set for late Wednesday evening.

At the time of publication, there had still been no agreement between the Haredi leaders and Yuli Edelstein, the chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who insists on a new IDF draft law that would include harsh penalties for Haredi draft dodgers.

Hours ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly deployed his closest confidantes to negotiate a last-ditch effort to find compromises.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, coalition whip Ofir Katz, and Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik all reportedly attempted to find acceptable compromises on the issue of military exemptions for yeshiva students, including the possibility of delaying sanctions on draft dodgers by several months.

While the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) Party has indicated it plans to vote for dissolving the Knesset, the Shas Party is reportedly not fully convinced. Channel 12 reported in the afternoon that party chairman Aryeh Deri was trying to convince UTJ to postpone the vote by a week to gain more time for negotiations.

Later in the evening, Israeli media reported that the Haredi parties had declared their readiness to receive a general document outlining general principles regarding the army service, rather than a fully formed new law.

Nevertheless, Edelstein refused to agree to this proposal, saying, “as long as the threat to topple the government isn’t lifted, there’s nothing to talk about. I don’t work under threats.”

According to Ynet News, under the proposed principles, Haredi leaders had accepted several enforcement mechanisms, including harsher enforcement if enlistment targets are not met, immediate suspension of driver's licenses for draft dodgers, and restrictions on leaving the country.

Earlier Wednesday, the opposition parties declared they would table bills to dissolve the Knesset in a decision they made “unanimously and [that] is binding on all factions.”

“In addition, in coordination between all factions, it was decided to remove opposition legislation from the agenda in order to concentrate all efforts on one goal: to overthrow the government,” they said in a joint statement.

If the Knesset approves the preliminary vote to dissolve itself, three more votes would be needed to make the measure final.