Israel to lift draft exemptions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to support a proposal to lift exemptions from compulsory military service.

"We are citizens of one state, and must all share the burden of its service," the prime minister said at the opening of his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

He said the new regulations would be implemented "gradually and in a was that will not cause a rift in the national unity." The new law is to apply to "secular, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Jews, Arabs – everyone," Netanyahu added.

The prime minister's statement came after his Likud Party had voted unanimously to endorse the findings of the Plesner Committee, which had the task of suggesting ways of introducing universal compulsory national service. The government set up the committee earlier this year after Israel's High Court had struck down the previous law, which granted exemptions from military service to Orthodox Jews and Israel Arabs as unconstitutional.

Political reversal

The support that Netanyahu expressed for the proposals marked a remarkable about-face for the prime minister, who just last week had dissolved the committee.

Observers said Shaul Mofaz, the leader of Netanyahu's main coalition partner, the Kadima Party, appeared to have forced the prime minister's hand, after he threatened to withdraw from the government over the conscription issue.

Netanyahu's office later issued a statement indicating that he and his coalition partner were now on the same page.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vice prime minister Shaul Mofaz are in agreement on the formation of a commission charged with drawing up a law on the equality of service to be presented at the next government meeting," the prime minister's office said.

Controversial issue

The issue of extending compulsory national service has been something of a political minefield for Netanyahu, whose coalition also includes ultra-Orthodox parties. Some ultra-Orthodox politicians have threatened to pull out of the coalition if the plans to extend national service are implemented.

However many other Israeli citizens, particularly those who have completed their national service, argue that the exemptions are unjust. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters had taken to the streets of Tel Aviv to demand national service.

Most Israelis over the age of 18 are required to serve in the military or social services, with men serving a compulsory three years and women two.

pfd/mr (dpa, AFP)