A dispute broke out this evening (Wednesday) within the coalition over the bill to divide the powers of the Attorney General.
Minutes before the vote on the bill, it was reported that United Torah Judaism was threatening to vote against it unless the government advanced a decision to fund haredi kindergarten teachers.
United Torah Judaism conditioned its support for the bill on advancing the funding, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has raised objections and is unwilling to move the measure forward.
In response, the Religious Zionism Party issued a sharply worded statement against Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni. The party argued that opposing the bill would allow Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to remain in her position without the changes the coalition seeks to implement.
The party's statement read: "Gali Baharav-Miara is sending a bouquet of flowers to Gafni, who is granting her immunity, preserving her judicial dictatorship, and allowing her to continue persecuting the right-wing bloc for many more years."
The statement continued: "If Gafni and his colleagues bring down the bill that puts an end to the Attorney General's tyranny, they will not be able to show their faces in the Haredi community. They should not make threats."
About an hour after the crisis erupted, the Degel HaTorah faction relented and announced that it would support the bill to divide the Attorney General's powers.