Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the hospital on Tuesday – against doctor’s orders – to participate in a key vote in the Knesset.
Netanyahu, 75, underwent surgery on Sunday night to remove his prostate, but mutiny in his coalition prompted the prime minister to leave the hospital and travel to the Israeli parliament.
The prime minister’s personal physician, Dr. Tzvi Berkowitz, accompanied Netanyahu to the Knesset. Doctors had ordered the prime minister to remain hospitalized for the next several days following the surgery.
Likud Knesset member Boaz Bismuth also arrived at the Knesset for the critical vote, despite still being in the seven-day “shiva” mourning period for his mother.
The United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Otzma Yehudit parties both threatened to vote against a law that would enable the government to tax corporate and other commercial earnings retained for reinvestment in their businesses, or for research.
Each party appears to be willing to bring down the government if their demands are not met.
UTJ is demanding passage of a bill to exempt haredi yeshiva students from the military draft. All Israelis are recruited for mandatory service at age 18, including young men and some women in the National Religious sector. Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled this past June that exemptions for the haredi community are illegal, further complicating the issue.
Otzma Yehudit is demanding an increased budget for police, the prison service and rescue & firefighting division.
UTJ and Otzma Yehudit each control seven seats in the Knesset; without their votes, the bill cannot pass unless it has support from the opposition, which is unlikely. It is possible the vote on the legislation may instead be postponed, if it becomes clear the vote will fail.
If the so-called “Trapped Profits Law” fails to pass, it could hold up passage of the 2025 state budget, or possibly create a $2.74 billion (NIS 10 billion) deficit.
The government will automatically fall if the state budget is not passed by March 31, triggering national elections in the midst of a multi-front war.
TPS-IL contributed to this report.
