Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting now with Shas leader Aryeh Deri and UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni, without coalition partners Smotrich and Ben Gvir, as the three seek to finalize a legislative package deal that would include a bill preventing the arrest of draft evaders, according to N12's Daphna Liel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting now with Shas leader Aryeh Deri and UTJ chairman MK Moshe Gafni at his office in Jerusalem, according to N12's Daphna Liel. Neither Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich nor National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are attending. Liel reports that the purpose is to finalize a legislative package deal that would include a bill preventing the arrest of draft evaders — an escalation of the coalition talks first reported at 16:41 Jerusalem today, when initial reports described the meeting as addressing Haredi party legislation demands and a threat to dissolve the Knesset. The exclusion of Smotrich and Ben Gvir is a new development; all prior versions of the thread reported the meeting as occurring without them, but this is the first confirmation that the specific deal on draft-dodger arrest is on the table.
The meeting was first reported at 16:41 Jerusalem by Amit Segal (N12), who noted only Gafni and Deri in attendance, against a backdrop of coalition tensions over the Haredi draft bill and the state budget. One minute later, at 16:41 Jerusalem, the desk's second update added that neither Smotrich nor Ben Gvir were present. That same timestamp also carried the first mention of Haredi leaders threatening to dissolve the Knesset if their party legislation stalled, cited to Israel Hayom. Now, at 16:51 Jerusalem, Liel's reporting upgrades the agenda to a specific legislative package aimed at preventing arrests of draft evaders — a more concrete goal than the earlier broad demands. The source of the original meeting report (N12) remains consistent; the source of the threat to dissolve the Knesset (Israel Hayom) has not been independently confirmed by other outlets in this thread.
As The Zioneer reported on June 8, 2026, Netanyahu met Gafni to secure votes for the Torah Study Basic Law — the legislative foundation for Haredi draft exemptions that is part of the same policy cluster. The current talks appear to be an attempt to lock in a coalition-wide deal on the enforcement mechanism (arrest of evaders) before the Knesset votes on the underlying exemption legislation.
What remains unclear is whether the Haredi threat to dissolve the Knesset — reported by Israel Hayom — is still active or has been suspended during this meeting. It also remains unconfirmed whether Smotrich and Ben Gvir were deliberately excluded or chose not to attend, and whether the package deal has the support of the broader coalition beyond the three leaders now meeting.
6 developments
- StrongCoalition heads meeting scheduled for tonight canceled
- DevelopingDeri tells PM he will not attend today's meeting; its fate in doubt
- DevelopingDeri and Gafni issue ultimatum to PM: pass Haredi bills this week or we back Knesset dissolution
- DevelopingUTJ official warns Deri is 'selling stories' to Netanyahu as daycare bill stalls
Source and signal
- Internal intake