In a potential turning point for one of Israel’s most divisive political issues, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the influential Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, announced Wednesday that coalition leaders have reached an agreement in principle on a new military enlistment law—a move that could resolve a months-long crisis that threatened to collapse Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government.

“After long deliberations, we have reached agreements on principles on which to base a proposal for the enlistment law,” Edelstein said in a statement, hailing the development as “historic news” and a key step toward “real change in Israeli society and strengthening the State of Israel’s security.”

While specifics of the compromise were not disclosed, Edelstein insisted that the legislation would broaden the IDF’s conscription base – a reference to contentious efforts to reform the longstanding exemptions for yeshiva bochurim. “As I said the entire way, only a real, effective bill like this will come out of my committee,” he said.

The enlistment law has long served as a political fault line, igniting fierce debates between secular and charedi factions within the coalition. The absence of a unified stance on the issue had placed enormous strain on Netanyahu’s razor-thin majority and fueled growing calls to dissolve the Knesset.

In a joint statement issued after Edelstein’s announcement, Shas and Degel HaTorah confirmed that “understandings have been reached regarding the principles for the law preserving the status of yeshiva students.” They noted that rabbanim had instructed lawmakers to delay any votes on dissolving the Knesset for at least another week while the final language of the bill is completed.

The factions also appealed to opposition parties to delay a planned preliminary vote on disbanding the Knesset, but their request was rebuffed—underscoring the fragility of the current political moment.

Edelstein said formal deliberations in his committee would begin shortly, with the aim of advancing the legislation through its second and third readings in the Knesset.

“We’re on the path to history,” he declared.

If the legislation moves forward smoothly, it could avert a snap election and restore a measure of stability to Netanyahu’s embattled government—at least for now.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)