Israeli government on verge of collapse? PM Benjamin Netanyahu loses majority as coalition partner quits due to...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government lost its majority on Wednesday when the ultra-Orthodox Shas party quit the coalition. With 11 seats now withdrawn, Israel's Netanyahu government now remains vulnerable to no-confidence votes. 

PM Netanyahu now controls just 61 of the 120 Knesset seats, leaving his government on the verge of collapse. As per a report by Mint, Shas cited "persecution against Torah students" for resigning, protesting what it called Netanyahu’s failure to pass a law exempting their religious constituents from mandatory military service. Although he pledged not to actively "undermine" the coalition, his exit from the government puts the nation on the brink of early elections. 

About the conflict 

The conflict stems from Israel’s explosive debate over military conscription. Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim), constituting 13 percent of Israel’s population, have historically been exempt from service to pursue religious studies. After 450 soldiers were killed in Gaza, leading to troop shortages, public anger over the exemptions took centre stage. 

When Netanyahu's coalition failed to codify new exemptions by July 15, Shas and UTJ’s spiritual leaders ordered their lawmakers to resign, as suggested by the report by Mint.