According to political reporter Bini Ashkenazi, United Torah Judaism leaders Jacob Gafni and the Agudat Yisrael chairman will not attend the coalition meeting called by Prime Minister Netanyahu this evening. The official reason cited is that the Haredi parties consider themselves outside the coalition. Shas has not confirmed whether Aryeh Deri will attend, leaving Netanyahu with only Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir at the meeting.
A political crisis within the governing coalition deepened Tuesday morning, as United Torah Judaism leaders made clear they will not attend the coalition heads' meeting called by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for this evening. Political reporter Bini Ashkenazi cited sources in the Haredi parties stating that Degel HaTorah chairman Jacob Gafni and the Agudat Yisrael chairman consider themselves 'not in the coalition' — a pointed remark amid ongoing tensions over budget priorities and the stalled daycare funding bill for yeshiva students.
Shas leader Aryeh Deri has not yet confirmed his attendance, according to the report. With the Haredi parties absent and Deri's participation uncertain, Netanyahu appears set to meet only with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit). The meeting was scheduled to discuss a timeline for dissolving the Knesset and advancing outstanding legislation amid the coalition's eroding parliamentary majority.
The boycott follows weeks of friction between Likud and the Haredi parties. As The Zioneer reported on Tuesday, Netanyahu earlier informed Haredi leaders he lacked a majority to pass the daycare funding bill — a key demand of UTJ. On Wednesday of last week, UTJ expressed fury after Likud delayed the bill, which has been repeatedly postponed. The current standoff further narrows Netanyahu's coalition options as the political calendar moves toward potential early elections.
2 developments
- StrongNetanyahu to convene coalition heads tonight to set Knesset dissolution date
- DevelopingUTJ official warns Deri is 'selling stories' to Netanyahu as daycare bill stalls
- StrongUTJ furious as coalition delays daycare funding vote; Gafni lashes out at Likud
- DevelopingNetanyahu tells Haredi leaders: no majority for daycare bill
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake