Prime Minister Netanyahu said Sunday that draft dodgers will either enlist or face imprisonment, and acknowledged that the current draft law has failed and will not be reintroduced in the next government, according to Kan News.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric on the conscription crisis Sunday, stating that draft dodgers will either enlist or go to prison, and acknowledging that the current draft law has failed and will not be reintroduced in the next government, according to Kan News.
The new remarks follow a series of statements from the prime minister earlier today, all reported at 13:25 Jerusalem. The earliest report, citing Israel Hayom, said Netanyahu told a closed discussion that those who do not study Torah will be conscripted or imprisoned. A second version explicitly confirmed that Haredim who refuse enlistment will face imprisonment. A third version, also at 13:25 Jerusalem, added that the temporary law freezing arrests of yeshiva students had failed to achieve its goals, and that Netanyahu aimed to form a broad national unity government to pass a full conscription law after the elections. The new statement, attributed to Kan News, goes further by admitting the entire conscription law was unsuccessful and signaling that the coalition will not attempt to revive the same legislation.
Netanyahu's shifting stance on the draft — from supporting the arrest freeze law to now threatening imprisonment and acknowledging failure — reflects the ongoing political struggle over Haredi enlistment, a core issue in the current coalition crisis. As The Zioneer reported over recent weeks, the government's handling of the draft has been marked by internal disputes and coalition deals. On June 22, the cabinet approved transferring Interior Ministry powers to Netanyahu but omitted the specific authority to revoke municipal tax discounts for those evading IDF service. Earlier, on June 25, details emerged of a coalition agreement granting immunity from arrest to draft evaders. And on June 30, Netanyahu acknowledged in an interview that he had failed to pass the conscription bill because the coalition addressed the issue too late.
The new statement leaves open key questions: what specific legislation will replace the failed draft law, how enforcement will be carried out, and whether the prime minister's hardening position will resolve the coalition crisis or deepen it. No timeline for a new conscription bill has been announced.
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