The haredi Degel Hatorah party rejected an offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change the Continuity Law so as to pave the way for the Draft Law to be passed in the next Knesset, Behadrey Haredim reported.
Under the proposal, the progress made on advancing the Draft Law would be preserved, and the process would not have to be restarted once the next government is formed.
However, Degel Hatorah, one half of the United Torah Judaism list, rejected Netanyahu's offer, stating, "We have had enough of futile actions intended to buy time and distract attention, when in the end they will claim that there is no majority. We informed the coalition leadership that we oppose amending the Continuity Law and are working to dissolve the Knesset as soon as possible."
The proposal presented to the haredim included an unusual amendment to the Continuity Law, so that it would apply not only to the following Knesset, but also to additional consecutive Knessets. The goal of the move was to allow the Draft Law to continue progressing from the advanced stage it is currently in even after elections.
Currently, the Continuity Law allows the advancement of only a bill that passed its first reading in the previous Knesset. In the case of the Draft Law, the bill passed its first reading during the Bennett-Lapid government, and continuity was applied to it in the current Knesset. It is currently being discussed in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ahead of its second and third readings.