The Likud party began proceedings on Monday to remove Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, from his position.
This dramatic move, announced by Ofir Katz, head of the Likud parliamentary group, comes amid the most severe governmental crisis Israel has seen in recent years.
In a message to party members in the Knesset, Katz invoked Article 138(b) of the Likud constitution, initiating a process to elect Edelstein’s replacement next Wednesday. Candidates must submit their nominations by Tuesday evening.
The contest is expected to pit MK Boaz Bismuth against MK Hanoch Milwidsky.
This ousting maneuver follows the dramatic unraveling of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. Last week, the three ultra-Orthodox factions—Degel HaTorah, Agudat Israel (together forming United Torah Judaism), and Shas—announced their exit from the government. Their walkout came after the coalition failed to present a law that would maintain military conscription exemptions for yeshiva students.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett fiercely criticized the Likud party: “Likud is stabbing the soldiers in the back. There is no more right wing, no more Zionism, no more responsibility. There is only one rule: whoever does not cooperate with the exemption law is thrown out. Shameful government, go home!”
Former IDF Chief of Staff and National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot also issued a scathing rebuke, accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of “cynicism and irresponsibility” and calling the current government “the greatest failure of the State.” Eisenkot urged coalition members to break their “silence of the lambs” and return to “basic civic behavior,” especially while “our fighters risk their lives on all fronts.”