Talks on New Israel Draft Law Collapse

By Haaretz July 11, 2012

A meeting of a committee convened for the purpose of creating new IDF draft legislation, focusing on ultra-Orthodox recruits, broke down as an intense argument between Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner and Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon erupted on Wednesday.

The two plan to submit the bill on Monday for a first reading in the plenum, and to finish the committee discussions by the following week. That’s the last week of Knesset activity before its summer recess – and before the Tal Law expires.

The argument concerned regulations for drafting ultra-Orthodox men, including the severity of sanctions on individuals who would fail to report for duty, as well as how long a full implementation of an ultra-Orthodox drafting program would take.

During the meeting, Yaalon revealed his final positions to Plesner for the first time, after days of exploring the possibilities. One official close to the committee commented “We’ve reached a dead end. Ya’alon has gone back on most of the conclusions reached with Plesner over the last few days.”

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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