Bennett: Army Faces Collapse Risk and Netanyahu's Government Responsible for Soldier Shortage

He added: "The Israeli army faces a risk of collapse, and we do not have enough soldiers to deal with all the threats that Netanyahu talks about"

He explained that "long combat tours so far are exhausting soldiers and harming their operational readiness", pointing out that they "are forced to leave positions because the forces are insufficient to control the sites they previously captured"

Bennett criticized the government's support for what he described as "military service evasion", saying: "Anyone who votes for the service evasion coalition is voting directly against the soldiers of the Israeli army", referring to the government's stance on recruiting Haredi Jews.

He continued: "Netanyahu is now warning that our enemies are planning an attack, but as long as he continues to encourage mass evasion of military service and causing the collapse of the Israeli army, who exactly will fight them?"

Bennett also wrote on his X platform: "Who is responsible for 120,000 Haredi young men saying we will die and not enlist? It's not the Haredim themselves, it's the government of Israel"

Netanyahu said in a video posted on Telegram on Tuesday during a visit to the Tel Nov Air Base in central Israel, that there are indications that "Israel's enemies will try to attack it ahead of the parliamentary elections (Knesset) scheduled for October 27, 2024", without specifying who might carry out the attack or the source of these indications.

On March 31, 2024, Israeli Army spokesman Evy Dvir said the situation had become "unbearable" due to the shortage of soldiers, calling for a law to allow more to be brought in.

Dvir added at the time that the shortage was between 12,000 and 15,000 soldiers.

The Haredi Jewish community continues its protests against military service, following a Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2024, obliging them to enlist and prohibiting financial aid to religious institutions whose students refuse military service.

Senior Haredi rabbis, whose followers regard their words as religious rulings, call for refusing enlistment and even "tearing up" call-up orders.

The Haredim make up about 13% of Israel's 10 million population and refuse military service, claiming that they dedicate their lives to studying the Torah.

Netanyahu has been heading the current government since late December 2022, a government described as the most right-wing in Israel's history.

Netanyahu faces corruption charges, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.