Shas pushes emergency bill to halt arrests of yeshiva students

Former minister Ariel Atias and Shas MK Yinon Azoulay met in the past day with Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to work out a plan that would stop the arrest of Torah students. According to the report, the sides agreed to advance Aryeh Deri’s proposal next week, which would split the enlistment bill and pass a one-year temporary order.

That temporary order would keep the economic sanctions in place, but freeze arrests and criminal proceedings against yeshiva students who have been treated as offenders because their status has not been regulated by law. Shas wants the measure to be passed through the existing enlistment bill, so it can move directly to second and third readings without opening a new, lengthy legislative process.

Following the meeting, it was agreed that the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth, will convene next week to advance the legislation. Senior coalition figures said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the arrest-stopping bill would have a coalition majority and pass in the coming days.

The report notes, however, that it is unclear whether Netanyahu will keep that promise, recalling that he also promised a majority for the daycare bill before freezing it. Deri has been leading the effort in recent weeks, seeking an interim solution until after elections and the formation of a new government, which would then decide on a permanent enlistment framework.