Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting now with Shas leader Aryeh Deri and UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni, without coalition partners Smotrich and Ben Gvir, to discuss a date for dissolving the Knesset and advancing two coalition bills — the Basic Law: Torah Study and a bill preventing arrest of draft evaders, according to Israeli political sources.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting this evening with Shas leader Aryeh Deri and UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni, and the discussion now explicitly includes setting a date for dissolving the Knesset, according to Israeli political sources. The meeting, which began without coalition partners Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, is underway at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem as of 16:41 Jerusalem (Tue). The addition of the dissolution date to the agenda marks an escalation: the Haredi leaders are now negotiating a timeline for a snap election, the fifth since 2019, alongside the legislative package deal that ties together the Basic Law: Torah Study and a bill preventing arrests of draft evaders.
The Zioneer first reported the meeting at 16:41 Jerusalem (Tue) based on a single source — N12's Amit Segal — noting only that Gafni and Deri were meeting Netanyahu. Within the same minute, a second N12 journalist, Daphna Liel, confirmed that Smotrich and Ben Gvir were excluded, with the purpose being to craft a package deal on the draft-dodger arrest legislation. By 16:50, Israel Hayom reported that the Haredi leaders were threatening to dissolve the Knesset if their party bills were not advanced. This evening's development, reported by additional Israeli political sources, confirms that the threat has been incorporated into the negotiation: a dissolution date is now on the table.
The Basic Law: Torah Study — which would codify yeshiva exemption from military service — has been repeatedly delayed in recent weeks, as The Zioneer reported on Mon Jun 8 (21:49 Jerusalem) when Netanyahu met Gafni to secure a majority for the bill. On Sun Jun 21 (21:04 Jerusalem), The Zioneer reported that UTJ had warned coalition leaders they would boycott all coalition votes until the daycare funding bill passes, even if the Basic Law passes its final reading. Those earlier threats were procedural; tonight's meeting pivots to a concrete timetable for dissolution.
It remains unclear what date Netanyahu and the Haredi leaders are discussing, whether the coalition's religious-nationalist wing will be brought into the negotiations, and whether the legislative package will be passed before any dissolution vote. No concrete date has emerged from the meeting yet.
6 developments
- DevelopingDeri and Gafni issue new ultimatum: advance Haredi bills this week or back Knesset dissolution
- StrongCoalition heads meeting scheduled for tonight canceled
- DevelopingDeri tells PM he will not attend today's meeting; its fate in doubt
- DevelopingUTJ official warns Deri is 'selling stories' to Netanyahu as daycare bill stalls
Source and signal
- Internal intake