Moshe Gafni, Ya'akov Litzman
Moshe Gafni, Ya'akov LitzmanHadas Parush/Flash 90

The coalition negotiations between Likud and the haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party have reached the final stages of phrasing the wording of the agreement, reports IDF Radio.

The agreement is to include a clause guaranteeing a cancellation of the criminal sanctions in the Enlistment Law, which was led by Yesh Atid and Jewish Home in the last coalition and sought to force haredim to enlist in the IDF.

The criminal sanctions by which haredim who refused to enlist were thrown in jail led to a harsh backlash in the haredi community, expressed in mass protests.

However, the UTJ coalition agreement has not been finalized yet, since a disagreement remains regarding the government's position on the controversial conversion law passed by the last coalition.

Even if that wrinkle is sorted out, the signature on the deal is expected to be given at the same time as a coalition agreement with the haredi party Shas.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon, with the two reportedly being close to a coalition deal as well.

The gaps with Jewish Home chair Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman are reportedly wider, and it is expected it will take longer for a deal to be sealed with them.