Decision to Exempt Ultra-Orthodox from Military Service Threatens Netanyahu’s Coalition

An Israeli soldier on a tank near the Lebanese border on April 7 (EPA)
An Israeli soldier on a tank near the Lebanese border on April 7 (EPA)
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Decision to Exempt Ultra-Orthodox from Military Service Threatens Netanyahu’s Coalition

An Israeli soldier on a tank near the Lebanese border on April 7 (EPA)
An Israeli soldier on a tank near the Lebanese border on April 7 (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to implement the terms stipulated by his extremist allies relating to expanding the Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories and exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.

Following the developments, protest leaders against the government issued statements calling for the expansion of demonstrations, and officers and reservists threatened to abstain from military service.

Informed political sources said that assessments within the Israeli army showed that passing those provisions would lead to an immediate reaction from the Palestinians, who will respond with a significant escalation rejecting settlements, and reservists who threatened to leave the military service.

Observers are concerned that about half of the pilots and navigators in the air force wouldn’t report for regular service.

Military editor of the Haaretz newspaper Amos Harel warned that it would quickly make the forces incapable of taking part in a war if one were to erupt, considerably eroding the force’s operational capacity.

He indicated that such a phenomenon might also spread to career army personnel.

“The commanders of critical units say that many of their career people have already said they won’t be extending their service and would even intend to quit immediately if the legislation is passed. One can assume there would be similar developments in other branches of the security establishment.”

Harel noted that the assessment in Israel is that a long and turbulent political summer awaits us. This feeling is accompanied by the lingering possibility of a broader military confrontation following the security escalation seen in recent months.

Despite suspending the judicial reform legislation announced by Netanyahu, many forces in the government are still calling for its continuation immediately after the holidays.

Harel warned that the coalition partners have numerous demands, some related to the judicial overhaul legislation, but implementing them is liable to put Netanyahu on a collision course with the outside world.

“All of the bad consequences of the legislation that the protesters warn against remain in place and may even intensify. The Biden administration isn’t concealing its fierce opposition to the change in Israel’s democratic form of government,” he said.

Israeli media discussed army and intelligence leaks about a possible war, saying the leaks were deliberate.

He noted that former Defense Minister Benny Gantz is under pressure to join the government to prevent it from failing.

Harel said that “if there were a major military confrontation, it’s difficult to know whether the two former Israeli chiefs of staff, Gantz and his party colleague Gadi Eisenkot, would constrain themselves from such a call to action."

"It’s hard to replace military DNA that has been cultivated for more than 30 years with more calculated and sober political DNA. When the cannons roar, the generals join government coalitions.”

Netanyahu had agreed to grant a complete exemption from military service to the ultra-religious group and limit the period for reporting their decision to 23 instead of 26, meaning they could go out for work after it.

Faced with the threat of a revolution within the army, Netanyahu proposed doubling the amount of “pocket money” given to the soldiers and converting it into salaries of 6,000 shekels ($1,666) per month, which is higher than the minimum wage.

The protest leaders considered this measure a bribe to the soldiers so that they would be silent about the exemption for the ultra-orthodox, noting that soldiers serving in the army would not accept the money for their sacrifices.



Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters Thursday.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
"In December, they (North Korean troops) engaged in actual combat, during which at least 100 fatalities occurred," Lee said, speaking after a briefing by South Korea's spy agency.
"The National Intelligence Service also reported that the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000."
Despite those losses, the agency also said it had detected signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was preparing to train a new special operations force to ship westward, AFP reported.
Lee noted that the North's elite Storm Corps -- from which the initial deployment was drawn -- had "the capacity to send reinforcements".
The NIS also predicted "that Russia might offer reciprocal benefits" for a new deployment, Lee said, including "modernizing North Korea's conventional weaponry".
The lawmaker added that "several North Korean casualties" had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking "at least at the level of a general".
The NIS said the high number of casualties could be attributed to the "unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are being utilized as expendable frontline assault units, and their lack of capability to counter drone attacks," said Lee.
Burden or asset?
"Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset," Lee said.
His comments follow a senior US military official on Tuesday saying North Korean forces had suffered "several hundred" casualties fighting Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky previously said North Korean troops had been at the heart of an "intensive offensive" in Kursk.
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A landmark defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June came into force earlier this month.
Experts say North Korea's Kim is keen to acquire advanced technology from Russia and battle experience for his troops.
Pyongyang on Thursday lashed out at what it called "reckless provocation" by the United States and its allies for a joint statement criticizing North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, including the deployment of troops.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the 10 nations and the European Union (EU) were "distorting and slandering" Pyongyang's "normal cooperative" ties with Moscow, according to state media.