Avi Gabbay
Avi GabbayYonatan Zindel/Flash90

Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay slammed Prime Minister Netanyahu, saying that the Prime Minister's "corruption" and "weakness" caused the latest coalition crisis with the haredi parties over the draft law.

"Politicians see a weak prime minister from far away," said Gabbay. "A prime minister, who police said accepted bribes, has lost his ability to lead this country and make decisions."

Gabbay's remarks come as Netanyahu scrambles to save his coalition, with haredi Knesset factions threatening to topple the government if the Draft Law is not passed.

Haredi MKs have told Netanyahu that they will refuse to vote for the 2019 budget until proposed changes to the Draft Law are passed. By law, Israel's government must pass an annual budget. Failure to pass the budget would cause the government to dissolve and would likely lead to early elections.

On Thursday, a senior source from within the Likud said that the demand to pass the Draft Law was making elections increasingly likely. "The haredim have climbed too far up the tree - the possibility of elections is getting higher," one source told Hadashot 2.