JERUSALEM: Israel’s government on Sunday approved a plan to temporarily extend compulsory military service for men to 36 months, up from 32 as the Gaza war against Hamas strains manpower.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the government had endorsed the measure, which will now go to parliament for approval.
Should it pass, the 36-month service will be effective immediately, for a period of five years, according to a copy of the bill posted online.
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Because of the military’s “current needs following the events of October 7”, the temporary provision proposes “the maximum duration of men’s service will be 36 months,” the bill says.
The law would also apply to soldiers currently deployed, lengthening their rotations.
In a statement posted after the government decision, however, Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara criticised the unequal enforcement of mandatory service, due to historic exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
“Increasing the burden on those serving for years, without simultaneously taking concrete actions to recruit yeshiva students and distribute the burden, will not be constitutional,” she wrote.
Most Jewish men and women in Israel must serve in the military, but since 1948 the insular ultra-Orthodox community has been granted draft exemptions so some students can continue yeshiva study.
But in late June, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into military service, potentially destabilising Netanyahu’s coalition that includes religious and ultra-nationalist parties.
Ultra-Orthodox factions hold 18 of the coalition’s 64 seats.
The issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment led to the collapse of a previous Netanyahu-led coalition government in 2018, sparking years of political deadlock.
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