UTJ leaders Yitzhak Goldknopf and Moshe Gafni have agreed to boycott tonight's meeting of coalition faction heads with Prime Minister Netanyahu, according to a party source cited by N12. The source said Netanyahu wants a photo of a united bloc and UTJ will not give it, as the party no longer considers itself part of the coalition.
UTJ leaders Yitzhak Goldknopf and Moshe Gafni have confirmed they will boycott the coalition faction heads meeting scheduled for this evening with Prime Minister Netanyahu, according to a party source cited by N12. The source said Netanyahu wants a photo of a united bloc, and UTJ will not provide it because the party no longer considers itself part of the coalition. The announcement came by late morning, hours after Gafni first signaled the party's position.
The boycott follows the morning's developments, as The Zioneer reported at 10:04 and 10:38 Jerusalem: Gafni said UTJ does not view itself as part of the coalition, and Shas had not yet decided on attendance. By 11:35, UTJ's leadership had collectively formalized the boycott, leaving Shas's decision still pending. The meeting may now include only Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben Gvir, according to reports.
The coalition crisis has been driven by a prolonged dispute over the military draft law and other Haredi issues, as The Zioneer has covered. UTJ's stance escalated from an initial signal by Gafni alone (10:04) to a formal boycott by both Goldknopf and Gafni (late morning), backed by a party source on record with N12.
Shas has yet to announce its attendance decision. The meeting was reportedly called to discuss a date for dissolving the Knesset and moving toward elections.
5 developments
Source and signal
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