JERUSALEM — The Israeli parliament this week passed a series of laws introduced by the ultra-Orthodox parties and supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who pushed them through with a singular purpose in mind — preserving his coalition for the elections to be held Oct. 27, political sources told Al-Monitor.

Netanyahu lambasted

On Wednesday, Netanyahu walked out of the plenum moments before Knesset members voted on a bill halting the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers. Opposition lawmakers heckled him out the door, shouting "Shame" and "Go already."

Netanyahu’s aides explained that the prime minister had been called away for an urgent consultation with the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter. The call lasted more than an hour. Regardless, his timely exit was widely perceived as a lame excuse. Had Netanyahu wanted to take part in the controversial vote, he undoubtedly could have spared a few minutes to do so. Despite his absence, the bill passed comfortably with a 58–54 vote. Two Likud lawmakers voted against it and left the party over the issue.