Bennett Demands Military Service for Security Cabinet Roles

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday a key condition for his participation in the next Israeli government: the passage of a law, dubbed the "Deri Law," that would bar individuals who have evaded military service, or encouraged others to do so, from serving in the security cabinet. Bennett, who leads the Bayit Yehudi party, stated at the International Counter-Terrorism Conference at Reichman University that "an evader will not sit in the cabinet." He accused Aryeh Deri, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Bezalel Smotrich of promoting and funding widespread draft evasion, which he claims leaves the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with an immediate shortage of 20,000 combat soldiers.

According to Bennett, this personnel deficit forces military units into extended operational duty and leads to the abandonment of captured positions due to insufficient manpower. He also asserted that a lack of observers and snipers increases soldiers' vulnerability to drone attacks. Bennett characterized draft evasion as a "strategic threat to Israel's security," arguing that the manpower shortage "costs soldiers' lives" and hinders the army's ability to defeat its enemies.

Furthermore, Bennett pledged to implement mandatory military service for all and to completely eliminate public funding for those who refuse to serve. "He who does not enlist will not receive a single shekel from the state," he declared. Bennett added, "We will no longer accept this distorted situation where the one who boasts of not sending his own grandchildren to combat is precisely the one who sends our sons and daughters to fight."