Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government survived an attempt to dissolve parliament this morning, despite a dispute within the ruling coalition over the issue of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish theology students.
The vote to dissolve parliament, which could have been the first step towards snap elections, which Netanyahu would lose according to the latest polls, was the most serious challenge to his ruling coalition since the start of the war against the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
61 out of 120 members of parliament voted against dissolving the Knesset, while 53 were in favor of the move, according to Reuters.
Today's failed attempt to dissolve the Knesset means that such an initiative cannot be submitted again for at least six months, strengthening the position of Netanyahu's ruling coalition.
The crisis was sparked by a draft law on conscription after some religious parties in the ruling coalition demanded that ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students be exempted from mandatory military service, while other lawmakers wanted to abolish such exemptions altogether.
Dissatisfied that the issue has not been definitively resolved today in favor of ultra-Orthodox Jews, the president of United Torah Judaism (UTJ) - a religious party that is a coalition partner of the ruling majority, Yitzhak Goldnopf, resigned as Minister of Housing.
This issue has divided the Israeli public for years, and has become particularly prominent since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip, in response to an attack by Palestinian extremists on southern Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
The ultra-Orthodox parties of the ruling coalition have announced that they will vote, together with the opposition, to dissolve the Knesset and call elections, although regular elections are not scheduled until the end of 2026.
However, only two of the 18 members of parliament from the ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu's coalition voted to dissolve parliament.
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