Israel set to extend retirement age for army reservists

The Knesset on Monday approved the first reading of a bill to push off the retirement of army reservists by extending a temporary measure passed last year to ensure the military has enough manpower amid the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, News.Az reports citing the Times of Israel.

Opposition lawmakers panned the development, which came as the government works to pass another bill that would continue granting sweeping exemptions to mandatory military service for the ultra-Orthodox community, preventing the draft of tens of thousands of potential soldiers.

The bill passed with 51 votes in favor and 47 against. It will now go to the Knesset House Committee, which will decide which other panel will prepare it for further readings, the Knesset spokesperson’s office said in a statement.

The proposal, a Defense Ministry-backed “draft Security Service Law,” calls to extend a temporary measure raising the exemption age for reserve military service from 40 to 41 for soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers for several additional months due to a manpower shortage amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Specialists such as doctors and air crewmen will be required to continue serving until 50, instead of 49.

The current increase in the exemption age, which was initially passed as a temporary measure by the Knesset late last year, is set to expire at the end of the month. If it clears its next two plenum readings, the bill approved on Monday will extend the measure through September.

The Knesset statement noted that under the terms of the bill, reservists who reached their retirement ages before the end of last year will only qualify for retirement in December 2024.

News.Az