Senior Likud MK David Bitan said Monday that the controversial draft law regulating the status of yeshiva students no longer has enough political support to pass, while acknowledging that even the chareidi parties themselves are no longer backing the current proposal.
Speaking in an interview on Kol Chai Radio’s main evening program, Bitan painted a picture of a political system already preparing for new elections, with coalition tensions growing over both the draft law and the timing of the next vote.
According to Bitan, the main dispute at the moment revolves around whether elections should be held in September or October.
“We prefer October, while the chareidim prefer September,” Bitan said, adding that “I don’t think elections can be held during the holidays themselves.”
The chairman of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee also addressed Israel’s ongoing military challenges, saying the country remains deeply engaged in simultaneous conflicts on several fronts, including Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran.
“As the war dragged on, things stopped depending only on us,” Bitan explained.
At the same time, he rejected criticism suggesting Israel entered the fighting unnecessarily.
“I do not accept this claim that we fought for nothing. We absolutely had to fight,” he said.
When asked about the government’s repeated promise of achieving “total victory,” Bitan conceded that Israel has not yet fully reached that objective.
“‘Total victory’ was the intention, but we still haven’t reached that point. It is still a process,” he said.
Bitan argued that the Israeli public understands the complexity of the situation and the enormous challenges facing the country during the current security crisis.
A major portion of the interview focused on the stalled draft law and the growing crisis between the coalition and the chareidi parties. Bitan insisted that responsibility for the deadlock does not rest solely on Likud.
“You can’t come only to Likud with complaints about why the draft law did not advance over these years,” he said. “It is impossible to pass a law that the chareidim themselves currently do not support at all.”
Bitan outlined the series of political and legal obstacles that ultimately derailed the legislation.
“At first there were legal problems that dragged things out,” he explained. “Afterward, some coalition members refused to support the wording, and we reached the point where the law simply no longer has a majority — and now the chareidim themselves no longer want it. Life goes on, and eventually we will arrange a fair law in the next term.”
The veteran Likud lawmaker also addressed the government’s judicial reform efforts, suggesting that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s current approach differs from his earlier position on the issue.
“Based on how he behaves today, yes. I think today he wants what he did not want in the past,” Bitan said regarding the possibility of reviving judicial reform legislation.
Still, Bitan cautioned that any renewed effort would need to move gradually rather than all at once.
The interview also touched on growing internal tensions inside Likud surrounding reserved spots on the party’s Knesset slate ahead of the next elections.
Bitan said demands that Netanyahu receive ten reserved slots on the list are unrealistic and noted that past Likud leaders rarely relied heavily on such mechanisms.
“We are a democratic party,” he said, defending the party’s primary system, which allows lesser-known candidates to rise through the ranks.
Bitan additionally rejected criticism from some right-wing figures who argue the current government failed to fulfill major ideological promises.
According to him, the war dramatically reshaped the government’s priorities, though he maintained that the coalition still achieved significant accomplishments.
“A lot of good things happened,” Bitan said, arguing that despite wartime pressures and ongoing legal battles, the government managed to preserve economic stability while also addressing social issues.
Toward the end of the interview, Bitan was asked which parties Likud would refuse to join after the next election. He responded that the party maintains a firm line regarding cooperation with Arab parties and the Democrats party.
“Likud currently will not sit with the Arab parties,” he said, adding that there are also major issues from Likud’s perspective regarding cooperation with the Democrats.
{Matzav.com}
