Israel’s government settled a dispute that had threatened its survival. The cabinet dispute was over the framing of a bill that would extend a long-standing military service exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students. For days, coalition parties had been unable to agree on the draft law. But about an hour before the scheduled preliminary vote on the bill, the Prime Minister’s office announced an agreement had been reached about the legislation and that it would be finalized after the month of April, when the Knesset returns from its break that begins on the 18th of March. The statement further noted that “The coalition heads had agreed to work in consensus to keep a stable government that would rule for a long period.” “I said yesterday that I would make a final greater effort to prevent elections and to continue to maintain this good government under my lead. A government that delivers great achievement to the state of Israel. I have promised and delivered.” / “It is highly important that we have decided together to continue together for the benefit of the citizens of Israel and for the benefit of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Since the crisis began, coalition and opposition lawmakers, ministers and political analysts claimed that it was merely a pretext for Netanyahu’s aspiration to let the government unravel, prompting an early election. However, some of Netanyahu’s coalition partners said they did not want an early election and pushed for the crisis to be resolved. “The political crisis is over and the drafting bill, dealing with the ultra-Othodox, will be finished in a few months with a wide agreement between the different factions,” Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said.
If Netanyahu’s government survives until the end of its mandated term, the next election is not due until November 2019.