Knesset Passes Five-Month Draft-Arrest Freeze in 58-54 Vote

Israel's Knesset passed the temporary draft-arrest freeze in second and third readings Tuesday by 58 votes to 54. The five-month measure pauses arrest, investigation and enforcement proceedings for eligible full-time yeshiva and kollel students who had not reported for military service, subject to study declarations and review. Coalition members Yuli Edelstein, Dan Illouz and Sharren Haskel voted against the bill, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not vote. The law's passage followed hours of debate, conflict-of-interest disclosures by Haredi lawmakers and warnings from Knesset legal advisers and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.