Likud MK Dan Illouz attacks Netanyahu over reported ultra-Orthodox deal

Likud lawmaker Dan Illouz launched a sharp public attack on his party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night, after reports of an ultimatum from ultra-Orthodox factions and a possible deal to set a mutually agreed election date in October in exchange for advancing military draft legislation and immunity from arrests.

Illouz, who has taken a hard line on equal burden-sharing and voted against the Basic Law on Torah Study in preliminary reading, said no political survival goal justifies harming soldiers and other service members. He accused the move of being a “spit in the face” of those who serve, describing it as the core of the national camp.

He also delivered a severe religious and moral critique of the legislation itself, calling it “a desecration of God’s name” in the Basic Law on Torah Study. In his view, the plan is not only morally wrong toward those serving and toward Zionist values, but also a serious political mistake that would drive away right-wing voters and lead to defeat on election day.

Illouz urged coalition colleagues and his party’s leaders to stop yielding to ultra-Orthodox demands, set a clear red line, and return to the national camp’s founding principles. “It is possible to say ‘no’ to the ultra-Orthodox parties,” he said, insisting that the alliance should stand firm on its “national, liberal and Zionist path.”