Political sources and MKs have been speculating that a significant development in the coming days could allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to survive the ongoing Coalition crisis and keep the government in tact through the Knesset Summer Session, Israel Hayom has learned.
While ultra-Orthodox Knesset members signaled Wednesday they would accept no further delays in resolving the crisis over the Haredi conscription, Likud members remain confident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees something else unfolding.
The speculation includes scenarios ranging from a partial hostage deal to a significant security event. Each of these scenarios could indeed ground to a halt any effort to dissolve the Knesset and hold a general election.
United Torah Judaism and Shas said Wednesday that a move to dissolve the Knesset could happen by agreement within hours, with party leaders declaring their intentions. United Torah Judaism pulling out of the Coalition will also lead Aryeh Deri following through with a similar decision on behalf of the Council of Torah Sages. If Netanyahu indeed fails to delay such a declaration from the parties in the coming hours, the date for Knesset dissolution approaches but not within days.
Only next week will a bill to dissolve the Knesset come up for preliminary reading, after the Opposition missed the opportunity to do so Wednesday. Senior United Torah Judaism officials said that if such a bill had been on the Knesset's docket Wednesday, there would have been no choice but to support it.
The continuation of legislation depends on House Committee Chairman Ofir Katz, who can delay the committee's continued writing of the bill. The Likud must lead to a delay of almost two months to survive the summer session. Meanwhile, Netanyahu will need a preliminary move to secure the ultra-Orthodox silence regarding the delay in dissolution, which could be sacrificing Yuli Edelstein's position as Foreign and Defense Committee chairman.
The end of the summer session is only July 27, meaning almost 50 days of survival in an active session – not an easy operational event for Likud.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders say that in a meeting Tuesday, Edelstein presented Moshe Gafni and Deri with a plan to impose sanctions on the entire ultra-Orthodox public that are far-reaching, and therefore Edelstein is already seen as standing in their way to a softened bill. However, in practice, Netanyahu still has to contend with many opponents to the bill within Likud and Religious Zionism, and these could increase the flames if Edelstein is replaced as chairman.
On Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu's staff managed the crisis while he attended his trial in the Tel Aviv District Court. Ultra-Orthodox leaders, frustrated after Netanyahu requested they wait until 16:00 on Wednesday for his testimony to conclude, stated he had sufficient time to address the issue. The ultra-Orthodox public's growing restlessness is driving their leaders' urgency, leaving Likud to question whether Netanyahu has a final trump card to play or if the Coalition's dissolution began taking root during his court appearance.
The ultra-Orthodox public's impatience leads to their leaders' impatience, and now Likud wonders whether Netanyahu indeed has another ace up his sleeve or whether the buds of coalition dissolution have already been planted and sprouted while he was in cross-examination.
