The highly contentious Charedi draft bill has been shelved as ministers redirect significant funding to the defence budget amid the war with Iran.
The bill, which regulates the conscription of strictly-Orthodox men after the Supreme Court removed their service exemption in 2024, was due to be voted on in the coming weeks.
Shas and United Torah Judaism, the Knesset's Charedi parties, had threatened to block the state budget - which has to pass by March 31 or the parliament will be dissolved and fresh elections called - if a version of the draft bill they could accept had not been passed first.
The latest version would see significant compromises on conscription, including age limits on sanctions against draft dodgers.
However, amid the ongoing war in Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, confirmed in a joint statement that the proposed legislation would be placed on hold.
Appearing in a joint video together, the pair announced that the bill would be set aside so the state budget can pass quickly, allowing the government to allocate more funding to defence.
They also confirmed that all government ministries other than the Defence Department would have their budgets slashed by three per cent, allowing an extra NIS 28 billion (£6 billion) in military spending.
"This is not an expenditure. It’s an investment," said Smotrich.
"To succeed in this mission, we’re putting aside contentious issues that aren’t fitting in wartime.
"We’re putting aside the enlistment law, which won’t be promoted for now, as well as a number of reforms that have not gained wide support.
"We wanted to bring more good news to the citizens of Israel in this budget, with an emphasis on the struggle against the cost of living.
"But the responsibility resting on our shoulders requires us to focus on passing the budget immediately for the security of the state and the welfare of its residents."
The announcement means that debate of the bill will likely be delayed until after the war is finished and effectively nullifies the Charedi parties’ threat to bring down the government.
Opponents of the bill, including those within the coalition, have celebrated the move as a victory.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote on X: “For many months, we thwarted every possibility of advancing the law in the Knesset.
“Tonight, Netanyahu and Smotrich admitted what we have long said: the despicable law has failed.”
And Yuli Edelstein, of the prime minister’s own Likud party, called the announcement a “huge step on the way to vanquishing the draft evasion law”.
Edelstein was formerly chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, which crafted the law, but was booted from the role by his own party after refusing further compromises with the Charedim. The current version of the bill was devised by his successor, Likud’s Boaz Bismuth.
Shas and United Torah Judaism are yet to publicly address Smotrich and Netanyahu’s announcement.
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