MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) walked out on talks with Strategic Affairs Minister
Moshe Ya’alon about a universal service bill on Wednesday, when the two sides
were unable to reach agreements on key issues.
“We have reached a dead
end,” Plesner said.
After Plesner and Ya’alon discussed and agreed on
enlistment quotas and personal sanctions for those who do not join the IDF or do
national service, the Likud minister presented a different stance in a
Wednesday-afternoon meeting.
A Kadima source, while unable to specify the
changes Ya’alon requested, said they would turn the bill into “a copy of the Tal
Law,” which allowed haredim to indefinitely postpone service, and make it “empty
of content.”
Ya’alon’s office declined to comment at this stage.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier and Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz called an faction meeting.
Opposition leader Shelly Yechimovich urged Mofaz to announce in the Kadima faction meeting that his party will immediately quit the coalition, "and stop the political farce surrounding the Tal Law, which will not yield real results even if a new law is passed."
"Elections should be held in September and this was avoided just because of a political exercise of survival and noe we have to go to the public and let it have its say in a wide range of significant issues in Israeli society," Yechimovich stated.
Previously,
on Monday, coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin had told reporters at the
Knesset that Netanyahu would succeed in passing the proposal being
drafted to equalize the burden of IDF service while keeping his 94-MK
coalition intact.
United Torah Judaism had threatened to leave the coalition over the issue, and Shas had expressed similar thoughts.
They
were waiting to see what would be in the final bill drafted by
Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner,
which, until the latest crisis, had been expected to be completed by
Wednesday night and brought to a vote in the cabinet Sunday.
The
legislation had been scheduled to have its first reading in the Knesset
on Monday and its final readings by the end of the month.
“I
don’t expect problems passing it,” Elkin said at the time. “UTJ and Shas
are sending messages to us not to count on them leaving, because they
don’t want Kadima taking their portfolios."
"UTJ has a real case
to justify leaving the coalition, because the agreement not to change
the status quo on matters of religion and state has been violated – but
if UTJ or Shas leave, they are making a mistake, because we will have a
secular coalition,” said Elkin.