Movement for Quality Government Petitions Against Service Extension: "Severely Undermines Soldiers' Trust"

The Movement for Quality Government filed a petition today (Sunday) with the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, against Amendment No. 29 to the Security Service Law. The amendment, approved by the Knesset plenum on the 17th of last month, extends regular service from 30 to 32 months. The petition requests an order nisi instructing the Knesset and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to explain why the amendment should not be canceled, alongside an interim order to freeze its entry into force until a decision is reached, and a request for an urgent hearing.

The amendment applies to those drafted from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029, including soldiers currently serving. The petition claims that this application with a retrospective dimension severely harms the reliance of service members and their trust in the authorities. The Movement notes that the financial compensation set by law for the two additional months is insufficient to remedy the violation of fundamental rights such as equality and autonomy.

The petition places the amendment in its legislative context. Two days earlier, the Knesset approved a law to freeze the arrest of deserters, granting Haredim immunity from criminal enforcement, which the Supreme Court subsequently froze with a temporary order. The petition emphasizes that both laws were discussed in a joint session of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in May, creating a reality where the state removes enforcement from one public while increasing the burden on another.

According to the Movement, the amendment violates constitutional rights, primarily the right to equality, and fails to meet the conditions of the limitation clause in the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Professional sources, including the Deputy Attorney General, previously identified a "substantial constitutional flaw" in increasing the service burden without taking real steps to reduce inequality regarding Haredi enlistment.

The petition relies on IDF data: since the war began, 964 soldiers have fallen, 6,424 have been wounded, and there is a shortage of approximately 12,000 soldiers per recruitment cycle. Army representatives clarified in the committee that extending service does not close this gap.

Adv. Stav Lavna Lahav, Director of the Legal Department at the Movement for Quality Government, stated:

"The State of Israel tells a fighter who returned from two years of war on several fronts: stay for another two months. And to those who never reported, it says: don't worry, they won't touch you. Equality in the burden is not a slogan - it is a legal duty that the Supreme Court established three decades ago. The Movement will continue the legal struggle until one law applies to everyone."