Israel’s ruling coalition on Wednesday withdrew all of its proposed legislation from the Knesset agenda after again failing to secure a majority without the support of ultra-Orthodox parties, exposing growing tensions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The move came just two days after the coalition reached deals with ultra-Orthodox factions in exchange for advancing several bills. On Monday, lawmakers approved in a preliminary vote a bill to expand the authority of rabbinical courts, in return for moving forward a communications bill sponsored by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. Both measures passed their first readings.
Despite those agreements, the coalition has continued to struggle to maintain unity. The setback is expected to delay a bill that would impose the death penalty on convicted terrorists, a measure repeatedly championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
The death penalty proposal was approved earlier this week by the Knesset National Security Committee and had been scheduled for its first reading Wednesday, following the return of all remaining Israeli hostages from captivity. Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the government’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, who previously opposed the measure, told lawmakers Monday that Netanyahu now supports advancing the bill.
“The prime minister’s position is in favor,” Hirsch said. “I see this law as a tool to help bring about the release of hostages.”
Debate on the bill has been delayed several times over concerns it could endanger the hostages. Netanyahu has also requested that the issue be approved by the Cabinet before any vote. Members of Ben-Gvir’s party have expressed frustration at the repeated postponements.
The opposition party Yesh Atid said in a post on X that “another day passes without legislation. Lacking a majority, the minority government pulled its bills from the agenda, and the plenum session was cut short.”
Meanwhile, ultra-Orthodox parties this week accused Netanyahu of dragging his feet on a proposed framework for military draft exemptions for yeshiva students. United Torah Judaism said in a statement that “for over a year we have been saying Netanyahu doesn’t want to pass a law — he wants to stall and confuse.”
Following reports in ultra-Orthodox media that coalition officials had blamed the religious parties for the current tensions, citing last Thursday’s mass rally in Jerusalem as having “created an atmosphere that hindered the bill’s progress,” a senior ultra-Orthodox figure responded sharply.
“There’s no limit to the audacity,” the official said, accusing Likud of “punishing” Torah leaders who organized the rally by delaying discussions in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.