Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken on the responsibilities of ministers who resigned from the Shas Party and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) bloc, despite ongoing criminal charges against him, as reported by local media on Monday.

According to Anadolu Agency, a public broadcaster, this move breaches Israeli law, which prohibits individuals facing criminal charges from holding ministerial positions.

Netanyahu is currently facing serious charges, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which, if proven, could result in imprisonment. Notably, he is the first sitting Israeli leader to testify as a criminal defendant in the nation's history. KAN further highlighted that this decision goes against a court ruling from nearly four years ago, which stipulated that ministerial posts should not remain with the prime minister or his substitute but should instead be filled by appointed ministers.

The UTJ bloc, comprising the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael parties with seven seats, withdrew from Netanyahu's coalition government on July 15. Their protest was driven by the government's failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi individuals from military service. The Shas Party, another ultra-Orthodox group holding 11 seats, announced the resignation of its ministers on July 16, while still remaining within the coalition.

Shas controlled several key ministries, including the interior, labor, welfare, and religious services, and also held positions such as deputy agriculture minister. The ministers' resignations followed the government's inability to introduce a bill that would allow religious Israelis to obtain exemptions from military service obligations.

The crisis over draft exemptions intensified after a ruling by Israel's Supreme Court on June 25. The court invalidated the longstanding deferral for Haredi individuals and halted state funding to religious schools that refuse to send students to military service. The Haredi community, comprising approximately 13% of Israel's population, maintains that Torah study constitutes their national service and that involvement in secular institutions threatens their religious identity. For many years, individuals have avoided conscription by claiming yeshiva study until reaching the exemption age of 26.