Edelstein said to be meeting with Haredi leaders as efforts continue to stave off coalition collapse

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, is reportedly meeting with leaders of the Haredi political parties in an effort to stave off their support of a preliminary vote on dispersing the Knesset and triggering a new election.

With a raft of legislation still up for debate tonight, any such vote is unlikely to happen before 3 a.m., if at all, with marathon talks between the sides ongoing.

If the legislation to dissolve the Knesset passes its preliminary vote tonight, it would still need to pass three further votes to take effect. If it is voted down, the opposition will have to wait six months to bring another Knesset dissolution bill to a vote.

A Haredi news outlet reports that a spiritual leader of Shas has ordered its MKs to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset. The Haredi parties are locked in a battle over their demand that the government pass a bill exempting ultra-Orthodox from military service.

Edelstein has vowed that any legislation must levy strong financial sanctions on draft dodgers. The Haredi political parties have sought to have Edelstein, a longtime Likud lawmaker who has previously clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ousted from his position.