United Torah Judaism announced Monday evening it will vote against legislation expanding police authority to conduct searches and arrests, citing recent police conduct as the reason. The move follows earlier opposition from Shas over a separate draft-evasion issue.
United Torah Judaism's faction said Monday evening that it will vote against a bill amending the Code of Criminal Procedure (Arrest and Search) to give police broader search-and-arrest powers. "It is impossible to give the police additional authority and power in light of officers' recent conduct," the party stated.
The announcement, carried by N12, comes after an earlier Monday bulletin by The Zioneer detailed UTJ's initial opposition, stated at 16:23 Jerusalem. The party's stance now solidifies ahead of the vote. Meanwhile, Shas — a fellow Haredi coalition party — threatened earlier Monday to withhold support for any coalition legislation unless arrests of yeshiva draft evaders cease. The dispute is part of a broader coalition standoff over Haredi military service, with Religious Zionism also insisting that any bill on the matter must respect the status of Torah study over military service.
2 developments
- DevelopingShas official denies blame in coalition dispute over religious enlistment bill
- DevelopingShas fires back at UTJ: accusations are false and harmful
- StrongUTJ MK Uri Maklev demands parliamentary inquiry into police protest conduct
- StrongShas and UTJ halt coalition voting in Knesset over daycare bill delay
Source and signal
- Internal intake