The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday approved extending the government’s authority to issue hundreds of thousands of emergency IDF reserve call-up orders, known as Tzav 8, ahead of an expanded military operation in Gaza that includes plans to seize Gaza City.
The vote passed 8-7 after all opposition members voted against the measure, while ultra-Orthodox lawmakers abstained. The extension reaffirms a government order issued Aug. 1 that was set to expire Aug. 25. Without approval, the call-up authority would have lapsed next week.
The unusual session took place at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv rather than at the Knesset, which is in recess and closed to lawmakers during a two-week summer shutdown. The new committee chair, Likud’s Boaz Bismuth, led the session.
Israel Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman blasted the decision, accusing the coalition of prioritizing its alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties over national security. “The government once again extended Tzav 8 for hundreds of thousands of reservists,” he wrote on X. “This government of draft-dodgers betrays the fighters again and again just to preserve its pact with Haredi politicians. Equal service—no exemptions, no deals—is the order of the day.”
Before the vote, coalition members sought to avoid relying on ultra-Orthodox support, aiming for a slim majority of 8-7. If that had failed, the coalition was prepared to include them. Absent again was Yuli Edelstein, ousted last month as committee chair amid disputes over the draft bill, replaced for the session by Likud MK Tali Gotliv.
The opposition, including the National Unity party, had signaled in advance that it would vote against. Though its representative, Chili Tropper, initially left the door open, he also joined the rest of the opposition in voting no.