Liberman drops veto on haredi parties in coalition, opposition in talks with UTJ - report

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman has dropped his veto on forming a government with haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, opening the door for the opposition bloc to begin discussions with United Torah Judaism (UTJ), N12's Amit Segal reported on Thursday

The bloc is reportedly discussing the possibility of drafting a more lenient military conscription law.

Yisrael Beytenu denied the report in a statement to The Jerusalem Post.

"We are not aware of any such thing. Nothing has changed since the briefing was given," the party stated.

United Torah Judaism, a longtime coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to recommend a candidate for prime minister to President Isaac Herzog during the party's consultation earlier on Thursday.

UTJ's decision to abstain comes amid reported tensions between the haredi party and Netanyahu, and it benefits the opposition bloc seeking to replace him. Oppostion party leaders have recently signaled greater openness to including haredi parties in their coalition.

Liberman has long maintained he would not join gov't with Netanyahu, Arab parties

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Liberman ruled out joining a unity government with Netanyahu, along with the option of a minority government that would be reliant on support from the Arab parties.

However, his stance regarding joining a coalition with haredi parties appeared to be more lenient. Ahead of the elections, he had drawn a red line to any partnership with them.

Liberman stated on Tuesday that  whoever would accept his set of principles and a conscription law to draft the haredim, he would "have no problem with."