‘Part of historic process’: Netanyahu backs revised outline of IDF haredi draft bill at Knesset

The prime minister also addressed calls for a state commission into the government’s handling of the October 7 massacre, and doubled down on his recent request to President Isaac Herzog for a pardon amid his ongoing criminal trial, saying “there is no case there.”

Netanyahu called the outline of the revised haredi conscription law "the beginning of the historic process of bringing the haredim into the army."

“The world of Torah will continue to guide us, with the merging of the haredim in the army," he said.

Netanyahu had not yet commented on the new outline of the bill after canceling a press conference on the matter last week.

Critics of the new outline of the bill that was presented by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairperson, MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), argue that the outline still fails to enforce haredi conscription, stalls time, and attempts to appease the haredi parties to return to the government.

"You want to see an evasion law? That is what you brought,” Netanyahu said as he turned toward the opposition in the session.

“You don’t want conscription,” Netanyahu added, causing further uproar. Various MKs were removed from the plenum as they expressed objections while the prime minister spoke.

Meanwhile, coalition lawmakers repeatedly clapped throughout his remarks.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s (Yesh Atid) remarks in return slammed Netanyahu.

“I have one question for you regarding the draft evasion law: what will you say to the wounded? What will you say to them if you pass this law?” Lapid asked the plenum.

“You are standing next to the bed of a young man who will now live his entire life without arms or legs. What will you tell him?”

"How will you explain to him that the same hand that signed his draft order, sending him to war, sending him to be wounded, is also the hand that signs off on the release of tens of thousands of healthy young people as part of a political scheme of the lowest and ugliest kind?" Lapid said.

The two haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, left the government in July over disagreements surrounding the bill, which had previously been advanced by former committee chair MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud).

Lapid accused Netanyahu of being pressured by the haredi parties to draft legislation that would deliberately fail to enforce conscription so the parties would return and the prime minister could “keep his seat for a few more months,” despite the military’s urgent calls for additional manpower.

Lapid vowed that the legislation would not pass and would be shut down in the Knesset’s plenum when it came to a vote.

In further remarks, Netanyahu rejected the topic of debate at the plenum, titled “The Collapse of Israel’s International Standing," calling it “a complete detachment from reality.”

"The claims that Israel's standing has been harmed are a wave of lies," Netanyahu said.

He spoke about his upcoming visit with US President Donald Trump, set for the end of this month, along with a consistent dialogue with Russia.

Netanyahu then addressed the calls for a state commission of inquiry into the government's handling of the events of October 7.

Despite broad public support and persistent demands by victims’ families, a state inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7 has repeatedly been blocked by the political echelon. Last month, the government instead approved the formation of an independent ministerial committee to conduct the probe.

“Regarding the inquiry committee, I heard your claim that the entire nation wants a state inquiry," Netanyahu told the plenum.

“We are promoting a national inquiry committee for the October events. Its establishment and composition will be done equally between the coalition and the opposition. Who could oppose that? It will be an independent inquiry committee.”

“You do not want an objective committee,” Netanyahu told the opposition, “you want a pre-determined committee, and that will not happen.”

Lapid, in return, said that he looks at the “embarrassing, disgraceful farce of the whitewashing committee you’re [Netanyahu] is setting up.”

The opposition leader slammed the independent committee, saying, “Instead of a state commission of inquiry, you invented a new idea, the investigated parties will investigate themselves.”

Netanyahu had also addressed his recent pardon request to Herzog, saying, “The judges already said two years ago that there is no bribery here.”

“We are facing another two or three years of this legal case," the prime minister continued.

"There is a real dilemma between the desire to continue exposing the miscarriage of justice and persecution versus national needs, security challenges, and major opportunities I am working on with my colleagues and President Trump," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister then turned to the coalition, telling them, “They do not want to bring me down; they want to bring all of us down,” resulting in applause.

Lapid responded sharply to Netanyahu’s comments on a potential pardon: “If the prime minister seeks a pardon without admitting wrongdoing or acknowledging moral turpitude, it’s not a pardon, it’s a prize. It signals that those in power are above the law, and that whoever threatens the system can bend it to their will."

“You want a pardon? Do the honorable thing: step down and leave political life, Lapid told the plenum.