Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri and Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni issued a dramatic warning Tuesday evening, threatening to bring down the coalition government within days if legislation viewed as critical by the chareidi community continues to be delayed.

The ultimatum came after a high-stakes meeting between the two party leaders and Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“On behalf of the great Torah sages, we conveyed to him an unequivocal demand to immediately advance the Basic Law: Torah Study and the law to stop the arrests of Torah students, by convening the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Knesset Committee already this week,” Deri and Gafni stated. They stressed that if tangible progress is not made immediately, they are prepared to support legislation dissolving the Knesset in the coming days.

During the meeting, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to both measures and pledged to personally secure the parliamentary support needed to pass them.

The two chareidi leaders also sought to dispel reports of any political arrangement with the prime minister. “There is no ‘deal’ with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Our demand to advance the Basic Law: Torah Study and the law preventing the arrests of Torah students stands on its own, is not dependent on anything, and we have not given up on any demand. If we see that these laws are being practically advanced, we will be able to resume voting on coalition legislation, in accordance with the instructions of the great Torah sages.”

Earlier in the day, Deri and Gafni took the unusual step of boycotting a scheduled gathering of coalition faction leaders, a move that resulted in the meeting being canceled altogether.

The boycott was widely viewed as a calculated effort to pressure Netanyahu into a one-on-one discussion and determine whether the coalition actually possesses the votes necessary to advance the chareidi legislative agenda.

The confrontation follows weeks of growing dissatisfaction among chareidi parties, which believe repeated commitments have not been fulfilled. Just last week, Netanyahu reportedly assured Deri that he would personally guarantee passage of two key bills during the current Knesset session: the Basic Law granting constitutional recognition to Torah study and legislation designed to halt Military Police arrests of bnei Torah who have not enlisted.

Despite those assurances, coalition leaders have continued postponing the measures, fueling frustration within the chareidi parties and prompting Deri and Gafni to significantly intensify their pressure campaign against the prime minister.

{Matzav.com}