United Torah Judaism MK May Abstain on Eisenkot Government Vote

United Torah Judaism party leader, MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, addressed reports that he might abstain from voting on the establishment of a minority government led by Gadi Eisenkot. Goldknopf stated that his party, Agudat Yisrael, will not support any government without resolving the status of yeshiva students. Earlier, Amit Segal reported, citing senior sources within the Gur Hasidic dynasty, that Goldknopf would abstain rather than vote against an Eisenkot minority government, as a way to distance himself from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc. The report suggested that other members of United Torah Judaism might also abstain, though this possibility was presented as uncertain. These assessments were attributed to sources within the Hasidic community and not to an official Agudat Yisrael statement.

Goldknopf responded to the publication by saying, "Agudat Yisrael will not support the establishment of a government and will not assist any government from the outside without resolving the status of the yeshiva students and legislating a conscription law without sanctions and without targets."