Israeli premier takes over resigned ministers’ posts despite criminal charges: Local media
Netanyahu’s move violates Israeli law that prohibits premier or his substitute from assuming ministerial roles
ISTANBUL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assumed the duties of resigned ministers from the Shas Party and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) bloc, in violation of Israeli law, local media said on Monday.
The public broadcaster KAN said that Netanyahu’s assumption of ministerial duties violates “a law that prohibits a criminal defendant from holding a ministerial post.”
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust that could lead to imprisonment if proven. He is the first sitting Israeli leader to testify as a criminal defendant in the country’s history.
The move also "contradicts a court ruling issued nearly four years ago that necessitated ministerial posts not to be left in the hands of the prime minister or his substitute, but rather to appoint actual ministers," KAN said.
Two ultra-Orthodox Israeli parties, Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael, which form the 7-seat UTJ bloc, announced their withdrawal from Netanyahu’s coalition government on July 15 in protest of failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi from military service.
Shas, another ultra-Orthodox party with 11 seats, announced on July 16 the resignation of its ministers from the government, without quitting the coalition.
Shas has been controlling key ministries, including the interior, labor, welfare, and religious services portfolios, and has representation in other roles such as deputy agriculture minister.
The ministers' resignations came after the government failed to submit a bill allowing religious Israelis to receive exemptions from military service.
The draft exemption crisis escalated after a June 25 ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court that invalidated the decades-long deferral for Haredi and halted state funding to religious schools that refuse to send students to military service.
The Haredi, making up roughly 13% of Israel’s population, argue that Torah study is their national service and that integration into secular institutions threatens their religious identity.
For years, many dodged conscription by claiming yeshiva study, often until reaching the exemption age of 26.
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