Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid (Reuters)

On Tuesday, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on the Ministers of the War Council, Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz, to join him in opposing the draft law on conscription, which exempts religious Jews (Haredim) from military service.

In a statement reported by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Lapid addressed both Eisenkot and Gantz, saying, “You cannot continue to sit in the government that will approve it,” adding, “Everyone who believes in the principle of the People’s Army must join us in the firm opposition to the law that makes evading military service legal.” ".

Referring to the repercussions of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Lapid said: “We need a larger number of soldiers, as the army is too small for all the challenges it faces. This is the moment of truth for Israeli society.”

The Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to pass a draft law that excludes the Haredim from military service and increases the period of compulsory service from 32 to 36 months, while also applying this to current conscripts. The project also stipulates that reserve soldiers be released from service at the age of 46 instead of 40 as is currently the case, and that reserve soldiers serve 42 days annually instead of one to two weeks currently.

Netanyahu's government includes two Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism.

According to Anatolia Agency, the issue of recruiting the Haredim, who evade military service under the pretext of devoting themselves to studying the Torah, has always been a thorny issue in Israeli society.

For his part, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said - in a televised statement on Tuesday evening - “In these difficult days, one thing is very clear, which is that everyone must perform military service.”

This controversy comes at a time when the Israeli occupation army has been waging, since October 7, a devastating war on Gaza, which necessitated Israel’s trial for the first time before the International Court of Justice (the highest judicial body in the United Nations) on charges of committing genocide crimes against the Palestinians. .

Source: Anadolu Agency