Israel’s coalition survives vote to dissolve parliament over army draft tensions

Israel’s governing coalition narrowly survived a no-confidence vote on Thursday, following a last-minute effort to convince ultra-Orthodox parties to withdraw their support for a motion to dissolve parliament.

Tensions had been running high for days, with Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) threatening to back the move to topple the government and trigger early elections.

The political crisis was sparked by the government's failure to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service - a long-standing demand of both Shas and UTJ.

Likud MP Yuli Edelstein, chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said that compromise with the religious parties was reached late on Wednesday. 

"I am pleased to announce that after long deliberations we have reached agreements on the principles on which the draft law will be based," said Edelstein.

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