Bennett: IDF will collapse without haredi enlistment, Netanyahu is dismantling military
Former PM warns IDF 'on verge of collapse' without haredi conscription • Netanyahu 'leading the most serious threat of all' in mass draft evasions, vote for PM is 'direct vote against troops'
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett warned on Tuesday that the IDF would collapse without haredi enlistment, claiming Netanyahu himself is leading the most serious threat by enabling mass draft evasion. At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Bennett criticized the failed October 7 government, urging all involved to step down immediately.
The IDF is on the brink of collapse, lacking 20,000 combat soldiers, according to the chief of staff. Bennett has witnessed firsthand how the shortage puts soldiers' lives at risk due to insufficient observers and snipers. Short reserve-duty rotations also compromise operational readiness, resulting in additional casualties. The IDF has repeatedly warned of the urgent manpower shortage, and Bennett has drawn a line in the sand, refusing to form a coalition with haredi parties unless they support legislation to compel haredi enlistment.
He aims to cut funding for draft evaders, strengthen the IDF, and reform the education system by removing state funding from haredi institutions that fail to teach core curriculum studies.
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