Ayesha Mir

As tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran continue, Pakistan is emerging as a potential diplomatic bridge. What makes Islamabad uniquely positioned to play this role, and could it actually influence the outcome?

Shorts

What makes Islamabad uniquely positioned to play this role, and could it actually influence the outcome?

Why world turned to Pakistan for ending hostilities in Middle East

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday creating a voluntary framework under which AI developers will share advanced models with the government before public release.&nbsp;The central provision allows companies such as OpenAI, Google or Anthropic to give the government access to their most powerful models for up to 30 days before planned release.&nbsp;The order was triggered by concerns over Anthropic&#39;s Mythos model, which the AI startup has refused to release publicly due to its ability to expose vulnerabilities in computer systems -- including those of banks, governments and hospitals.&nbsp;The 30-day window represents a compromise: the original draft that leaked to US media called for up to 90 days of pre-release government access, while tech companies had pushed to cut that figure to just 14 days.&nbsp;The signing comes after a turbulent few weeks in which the White House appeared close to unveiling the measure, only to pull back abruptly.&nbsp;According to Politico and other media, David Sacks, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist who served as Trump&#39;s AI and crypto czar, called the president to warn that the measure would slow innovation and hurt the United States in its AI race with China -- blindsiding White House staff who believed Sacks supported the order.&nbsp;Sacks wrote on X last week that &quot;unnecessary regulation is the biggest threat to innovation in America,&quot; adding that winning the AI race required clearing &quot;bureaucratic hurdles&quot; from state legislatures and Washington politicians.&nbsp;The order also instructs Treasury, the National Security Agency and the CISA agency to form an &quot;AI cybersecurity clearinghouse&quot; in voluntary collaboration with industry and critical infrastructure operators to coordinate scanning for software vulnerabilities and prioritize patches.&nbsp;Trump scrapped a Biden-era AI oversight order on his first day back in the White House.&nbsp;Biden&#39;s 2023 order required AI companies to share safety test results with the government and leaned heavily on voluntary commitments -- already a light-touch approach that fell short of what many experts had called for.&nbsp;By contrast, the European Union&#39;s AI Act -- which entered into force in 2024 -- sets binding rules for high-risk AI systems, including mandatory transparency requirements and, for the most powerful models, obligations around safety testing and incident reporting.

Americas

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a voluntary framework for AI firms to share advanced models with the government up to 30 days before release, while establishing an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse to address emerging security risks.

Trump signs AI order giving government access to powerful models

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: &nbsp;Pakistan&#39;s security forces killed 17 terrorists during a series of intelligence-led operations across several districts of southwestern Balochistan province, the military&#39;s media wing said in a statement.&nbsp;According to Inter-Services Public Relations, security forces conducted a series of operations in Mastung, Nushki, Zehri, Khuzdar and Kech districts of Balochistan province. Last month, on May 24, a suicide bombing near a railway track martyred more than 20 people and injured dozens of others after an explosives-laden vehicle detonated as a passenger train passed through the area. Pakistani authorities said innocent civilians, including women and children, were among the victims. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has been designated as a terrorist outfit by the US and Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. During the conduct of the operations, Pakistani troops effectively engaged multiple terrorist locations, said the statement. It said that 17 terrorists, who it described as belonging to &ldquo;Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Hindustan,&rdquo; were killed, giving &quot;a significant blow to the terrorist networks&rdquo; operating in these areas.&nbsp;Pakistan designates Fitna al-Hindustan as the banned Balochistan Liberation Army and affiliated terrorist groups.&nbsp;The military&#39;s media wing said that weapons, ammunition and a large cache of explosives and prepared Improvised Explosive Devices were also recovered from the killed terrorists. It said that they had been actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area. It added that the operation is continuing to eliminate terrorists hiding in the area as part of Pakistan&#39;s ongoing counterterrorism campaign, Azm-e-Istehkam, as approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan. &lsquo;Nation highly values the sacrifices&rsquo;Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the professionalism and bravery of the security forces for conducting successful intelligence-based operations in various districts of Balochistan. &quot;The nation highly values the sacrifices and services of its brave armed forces and law enforcement agencies,&quot; the prime minister said. He said that the successes achieved by the security forces in the fight against terrorism reflect the determination and unity of the entire nation.

Security

Security forces conduct operations in Mastung, Nushki, Zehri, Khuzdar and Kech districts.

Pakistan forces kill 17 terrorists in Balochistan intelligence-led operations

SOUTHAMPTON: Body camera footage of a dying student who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by a Sikh man and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage Tuesday. 18 year-old Henry Nowak is heard repeatedly telling police &quot;I can&#39;t breathe&quot; in the footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members. A judge on Monday jailed his killer, 23-year-old Sikh Vickrum Digwa, for at least 21 years for stabbing Nowak to death with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade. When police arrived at the scene in the south coast city of Southampton, Digwa lied to officers, telling them Nowak had racially insulted him and that he was the victim. The footage, which was played during Digwa&#39;s trial, shows police accepting the aggressor&#39;s accusation, and rather than helping Nowak initially placing him in handcuffs despite his pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe. One officer can be heard asking Nowak: &quot;You&#39;ve been stabbed, whereabouts?&quot; before adding: &quot;Don&#39;t think you have, mate.&quot; Moments later the young student collapsed and became unconscious. Speaking after Digwa was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court, Nowak&#39;s father Mark described the police treatment of his son as &quot;shocking&quot;. He called Nowak&#39;s treatment &quot;inhumane and degrading... his murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed&quot;. The family gave permission for police to release the bodycam footage. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the &quot;awful, shocking case&quot; on X on Monday, saying it was right the independent police complaints watchdog was investigating officers&#39; &quot;response to (Nowak&#39;s) senseless murder&quot;. Main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for changes to police diversity policies. Farage said there needed to be an end to &quot;anti-white prejudice&quot; and recognition that &quot;white lives matter&quot;. &lsquo;Two-tier culture&rsquo; He said Nowak&#39;s words echoed the 2020 case of George Floyd, a black killed by police in the United States. &quot;I can&#39;t breathe. Familiar words. Remember career criminal George Floyd, who died in appalling circumstances in Midwest America,&quot; Farage said. At the time &quot;Keir Starmer was taking the knee. Black Lives Matter exploded all over the country. Churchill&#39;s statue was defaced,&quot; Farage said. But after Nowak&#39;s death there has been &quot;absolute silence, proof ... we&#39;re living in a two-tier culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.&quot; Change was needed, Farage said, &quot;if our society is not to be ripped apart&quot; amid distrust between communities, and concern over policing and institutions. Badenoch accused Farage of &quot;deepening divisions&quot; with his comments. But she also took at aim at so-called &quot;two-tier policing&quot; in which police allegedly deal with ethnic minorities more leniently. Badenoch, whose party has lost support on the right to Reform UK, called for citizens to be treated equally by police regardless of ethnicity. &quot;No two-tier policing, no believing that racism only happens to ethnic minorities. It happens to everyone,&quot; she told Good Morning Britain television. &quot;And the police need to be trained like that, not with the terrible anti-racism training, which is just reverse racism and reverse discrimination,&quot; she said. American tech tycooon Elon Musk has posted on X an offer to fund a private prosecution against the police over its handling of the murder. Digwa was due in court again Tuesday with his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, 27, and his father, Moga Singh, 52, on weapons offences. All three face charges of possession of offensive weapons including a flick knife, an extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete, swords and kusaris. Digwa&#39;s family apologized to Nowak&#39;s family for the killing.&nbsp; The convicted killer&#39;s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, will be sentenced on July 17 for assisting an offender by taking the knife back to the family home.

Demonstrators gather around Kingsway to march during 'Unite the Kingdom' organized at the call of far-right activist Tommy Robinson in London, United Kingdom on May 16, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

18 year-old Henry Nowak is heard repeatedly telling police "I can't breathe" in the footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members.

'I can't breathe': Outrage after UK police handcuff dying student

ISLAMABAD: The International Rescue Committee warned Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is likely much larger and more advanced than official figures indicate, as response efforts struggle with delayed detection and dangerously low levels of contact tracing. According to World Health Organization data, Ebola is a rare but severe and often fatal illness in humans, with an average case fatality rate of around 50%, ranging from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. The current outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo virus strain, for which no approved vaccine or specific therapeutics currently exist, according to available epidemiological data. The virus spreads through direct contact with broken skin or mucous membranes and bodily fluids of infected or deceased persons, and through indirect contact with contaminated surfaces or materials, according to WHO tracking. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days, with individuals not contagious until symptoms appear, per WHO guidelines. With only 20% of contacts currently being traced, health authorities are struggling to identify and isolate new chains of transmission, according to the IRC. The virus may have been spreading undetected since before March, potentially as long as three months before the first official case was identified, allowing multiple chains of transmission to establish across communities and provinces, the IRC warned. &quot;The true scale of this Ebola outbreak is likely far worse than official figures suggest,&quot; said Rachel Howard, Senior Technical Emergency Health Adviser at the IRC. &quot;When four out of five contacts are not being traced, it becomes incredibly difficult to contain the outbreak or even understand its true scale. We&#39;re especially concerned about the virus spreading to other countries like Burundi or South Sudan.&quot; According to integrated epidemiological data, the total confirmed case numbers are 282 in the DRC and 9 in Uganda, with over 220 suspected cases under investigation. At least 42 confirmed deaths have been reported in the DRC and 1 in Uganda. IRC teams report that shortages of diagnostic cartridges and testing backlogs are slowing case confirmation, further obscuring the true spread of the outbreak. Seven confirmed Ebola patients have reportedly left treatment centers in the DRC. More than six healthcare workers have died, including two doctors, in recent days. People are avoiding health facilities, raising concerns that those affected are staying in their communities rather than seeking treatment. Without urgent funding, the situation could deteriorate rapidly. The outbreak is increasingly resembling the 2018-20 North Kivu Ebola crisis, which infected thousands of people and was complicated by insecurity, population movement, and community resistance. However, unlike in previous outbreaks, when the Ervebo vaccine was deployed, there is currently no approved vaccine for this Ebola strain. The IRC called for urgent international support to scale up contact tracing, surveillance, laboratory testing, treatment capacity, and community engagement efforts. In Uganda, the organization teamed up with the local health ministry on the border to support infection prevention and control activities, including screening people coming across the border.

Africa

The current outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo virus strain, for which no approved vaccine or specific therapeutics currently exist.

Congo Ebola outbreak likely far larger than official figures suggest: IRC

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that promoting industry and trade and increasing foreign investment are indispensable for the sustainable development of the country&rsquo;s economy, according to a statement on Tuesday. The prime minister was chairing a review meeting on sectoral reforms and policy measures to increase investment and overall development of the economy. He said that, in addition to increasing domestic production of industrial products, effective policy measures to boost exports are among the government&rsquo;s policy priorities, according to the statement.&nbsp; It further quoted the prime minister as saying that reforms in industry, trade, and various sectors of the economy should focus on long-term economic efficiency and public welfare. PM Sharif assured that a comprehensive strategy is being implemented vigorously to meet future energy needs through alternative sources. &ldquo;A comprehensive and effective electric vehicles policy is the need of the hour to meet the country&rsquo;s needs for energy efficiency and affordable transport.&rdquo;&nbsp; The statement further said that the prime minister stressed the need to ensure meaningful consultation among all ministries and experts and to leverage modern technology across all sectors.&nbsp; Administrative transparency and excellent performance across all reforms and initiatives, as quoted by the prime minister in the statement, are the top priority of his government.&nbsp;

Economy

Emphasizes industrial expansion, export growth, and foreign investment, highlighting economic reforms, energy diversification, electric vehicle adoption, technological innovation, and transparent governance to ensure sustainable development.

Pakistan PM stresses industrial growth, investment and comprehensive EV policy for development

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved a landmark trial that could see the traditional red ball replaced with a pink ball during Test matches when poor light threatens to halt play, according to the digital sports media website ESPN. The website said that the decision was taken during the ICC Board meeting over the weekend and is aimed at reducing interruptions caused by fading light conditions. The red balls usually used in Tests are not easily visible in fading light, while the white balls used in limited-overs matches are not durable enough for the longer format, said an ESPN report. Pink balls are already used in day-night Tests played under lights. According to AFP, the ICC said in a statement that its executive board had approved of &quot;trialing the use of a pink ball in Test matches, with prior agreement from both teams, to maximize play in case of anticipated bad light&quot;. The global cricketing body said it had also approved new &quot;research on lighting technology for match officials and venues to reduce lost play due to poor light&quot;. &quot;Our discussions... have reinforced the ICC&#39;s commitment to governance, administration and the growth of cricket globally,&quot; said council chief Jay Shah, following a meeting in India&#39;s Ahmedabad.

Cricket

Allows the replacement of red balls with pink balls in test matches during poor light, aiming to reduce stoppages and maximize playing time without compromising visibility.

ICC approves pink ball trial in test cricket to reduce bad-light interruptions

GENEVA: There is an 80% chance of the warming El Nino phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday. &quot;Fuelled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Nino conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns,&quot; the United Nations&#39; weather and climate agency said. Forecasts from the WMO global network &quot;indicate a pronounced shift toward El Nino conditions, with probabilities reaching 80% for June-August&quot;, the Geneva-based organization said. El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months. Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between. The likelihood of El Nino developing by November is &quot;near or above 90%&quot;, and most forecast models suggest it will be &quot;at least moderate and possibly strong&quot;, the WMO said in its quarterly El Nino/La Nina update. WMO chief Celeste Saulo said the world therefore needed to get ready for an El Nino which could &quot;exacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the ocean&quot;. The WMO says that even a moderate El Nino makes some weather and climate extremes more likely. The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high at around 1.55C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average. &#39;Urgent climate warning&#39;: Guterres&nbsp;In late April to mid-May, the sea-surface temperature in the central-eastern Equatorial Pacific, the area used as a monitoring reference, was approaching El Nino thresholds, the WMO said, with sub-surface temperatures more than 6C above average. Meanwhile, the Southern Oscillation Index, the atmospheric component of El Nino, is also consistent with El Nino conditions developing. The WMO said there was no evidence that climate change increases the frequency or intensity of El Nino events. However, it can amplify the associated impacts, it says, because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increase the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall. &quot;El Nino is arriving on our doorstep,&quot; UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a video message. &quot;The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed. &quot;The only effective response is climate action equal to the crisis, ending the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for all.&quot; Temperatures above normal&nbsp;The WMO said that for June to August, forecasts project &quot;a nearly universal dominance of above normal temperatures in nearly all parts of the globe&quot;. This increases the risk of compounding hazards in some regions and accelerates the onset of drought conditions where rainfall is reduced, it said. Regional climate centers are predicting &quot;below-normal&quot; rainfall during the critical June-September rainy season in the northern Greater Horn of Africa; below-average monsoon rainfall in South Asia; and drier and warmer summer conditions in Central America. During the northern hemisphere summer, warm waters associated with El Nino can fuel hurricanes in the central and eastern Pacific, while hindering their development in the Atlantic Ocean. The WMO hopes advance warning will guide preparedness, especially in climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, water management, energy and health. Each El Nino is unique, says WMO&#39;s climate prediction chiefAFP spoke with Wilfran Moufouma Okia, head of climate prediction at the United Nations&#39; weather and climate agency, who said Tuesday that warming El Nino conditions were expected to develop before the end of August. The natural climate phenomenon is expected to drive more extreme weather and rainfall, according to the WMO, although its intensity is hard to predict at this stage. What can we expect?&nbsp;Moufouma Okia said El Nino has a temporary warming effect, and while it originates in the tropics, it affects a large part of the planet. &quot;When El Nino occurs, droughts are expected in West Africa, the Sahel, South Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia,&quot; he said. &quot;Conversely, other regions experience abundant rainfall, such as the southeastern United States and especially the equatorial Pacific region. Therefore, different regions will react differently to the phenomenon.&quot; Moufouma Okia stressed that El Nino does not act in isolation, but interacts with other weather phenomena, which can amplify or weaken its intensity. &quot;According to our projections, we will broadly see an El Nino event ranging from moderate to strong,&quot; he said. &quot;But it&#39;s important to stress that each El Nino event is unique. One might think that a weak El Nino will have no consequences, but that&#39;s wrong. Depending on the country and the context, the consequences can be just as damaging as with strong events.&quot; Are countries ready?&nbsp;Moufouma Okia said the WMO would provide countries and national weather services with its findings, but it was down to them to refine the information at a local level. He hoped countries would take the data into account in preparing for El Nino. &quot;WMO models are capable of making forecasts six months in advance. So we hope that countries will have had time to anticipate,&quot; he said. However, sometimes the consequences go beyond a country&#39;s capacity to respond, as happened during the last El Nino, between 2023 and 2024. &quot;Back then, there was a decrease in rainfall in Panama that affected the canal, and therefore the global economy,&quot; he said. Are countries cooperating on weather?&nbsp;Moufouma Okia said there was progress, with countries exchanging more information regarding El Nino. &quot;There were fewer casualties in 2023-2024 than in 1997. So we can assume that countries are better prepared, or have learned from previous events,&quot; he said. Countries understand the need to share data, and &quot;even countries in conflict&quot; are cooperating, the climate prediction chief said. &quot;To predict a phenomenon on the other side of the world, you need data from the other side.&quot;

Head of climate prediction services at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Wilfran Moufouma-Okia points on graphs displayed on a computer screen at the WMO headquarters in Geneva, on June 1, 2026. (AFP)

Climate

The World Meteorological Organization warns there is an 80% chance of El Nino developing between June and August, likely bringing increased global risks of extreme heat, droughts, and heavy rainfall as part of a warming Pacific climate pattern.

80% chance of El Nino developing June-August: UN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq, said Tuesday he held talks with a senior Chinese diplomat in Islamabad on regional security challenges, including concerns over terrorist groups operating from neighboring Afghanistan. Sadiq, in a post on X, said&nbsp;he welcomed Chinese Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong and his delegation for discussions focused on strengthening coordination and synchronized counterterrorism efforts. He said the two sides exchanged views on &quot;threats posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) operating from Afghan soil&quot;.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2061509383318851946&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F4092%2F&sessionId=4a0186208528240165a547fa581bdc21a9f15b22&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Both sides agreed to &quot;strengthen coordination &amp; synchronize counter-terrorism efforts to protect regional peace &amp; stability,&quot; Sadiq said.&nbsp;

Foreign Affairs

Both sides discussed regional security challenges, particularly threats posed by the TTP and ETIM from Afghan soil, and agreed to strengthen coordination and synchronize counterterrorism efforts to promote lasting peace and stability across the region.

Pakistan, China discuss Afghan-based terror threats, strengthen counterterrorism cooperation

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense phone call on Monday, expressing frustration over Israel&rsquo;s escalating military operations in Lebanon, according to US officials cited by American news agency Axios. According to Axios,&nbsp; Trump called the Israeli premier &ldquo;crazy&rdquo; on the call&nbsp;and accused him of ingratitude. The reported exchange came amid growing concerns that the conflict could undermine ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran.&nbsp; Sources familiar with the conversation said Trump warned Netanyahu that expanding military action, particularly threats to strike Beirut, would further isolate Israel internationally and jeopardize diplomatic efforts. US officials told Axios that Trump claimed he had helped keep Netanyahu out of jail. This referred to Trump&rsquo;s support during the corruption trial against the Israeli premier. A second source briefed on the call told Axios that Trump was &ldquo;pissed&rdquo; and at one point yelled at Netanyahu, saying, &ldquo;What the f*** are you doing?&rdquo; According to officials, Trump acknowledged Israel&rsquo;s right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah but argued that recent Israeli actions had become disproportionate.&nbsp; He was reportedly concerned about civilian casualties in Lebanon and objected to strikes that resulted in extensive damage while targeting individual Hezbollah commanders. The call followed warnings from Iran that it could abandon negotiations with Washington if Israel intensified its operations in Lebanon.&nbsp; US officials said Trump viewed the escalation as a direct threat to diplomatic progress. Following the conversation, an Israeli official told Axios that Israel no longer planned to carry out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut.&nbsp; However, Netanyahu later stated that Israel would continue operations in southern Lebanon and maintain its position unless Hezbollah halted attacks.

Middle East

American news agency Axios reports that Trump criticized Netanyahu over Israel’s operations in Lebanon, warning they could derail US-Iran talks, while Israel has reportedly shelved plans to strike Beirut but will continue operations in southern Lebanon

Trump rebukes Netanyahu over Lebanon escalation, urges restraint

JERUSALEM: Israeli lawmakers voted Tuesday to back a bill, in its first reading, to dissolve parliament and pave the way for likely early elections. A total of 106 of the Knesset&#39;s 120 members backed the legislation, submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s ruling coalition, according to a parliamentary statement. The remaining lawmakers did not attend the vote, which followed a debate in the assembly. The bill, which must pass two further readings before becoming law, stipulates that elections be held between September 8 and October 20. Israel is currently due to hold elections by October 27, when the current legislative term ends. &quot;We completed four full years, which is an exceptional achievement in Israeli politics, and we worked hard to reach this point,&quot; said Ofir Katz, chairman of the ruling coalition in a statement. &quot;This Knesset passed more than 520 laws and nine budgets. In practice, we held on until the very end.&quot; The coalition&#39;s move to propose the bill comes as Netanyahu faces growing pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties and his fractious right-wing coalition appears increasingly vulnerable to collapse. Ultra-Orthodox parties accuse Netanyahu of failing to fulfil a pledge to pass legislation granting a permanent exemption from compulsory military service to young men studying in yeshivas, or religious seminaries. Netanyahu, 76, a political survivor often described as the phoenix of Israeli politics, has confirmed he intends to seek another term in office. He recently disclosed that he had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. Israel&#39;s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu has spent more than 18 years in power since first taking office in 1996. He is seeking re-election despite facing a long-running corruption trial. Many Israelis hold Netanyahu responsible for the security failures that allowed Hamas to carry out its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Last month, a poll published by public broadcaster KAN placed Netanyahu&#39;s Likud party narrowly ahead of Beyahad (Together), the joint list led by opposition leader Yair Lapid and former prime minister Naftali Bennett. However, neither camp appears capable of securing a governing majority in Israel&#39;s fragmented political landscape.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits for the start of an Israeli war cabinet meeting also attended by U.S. President Joe Biden on Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The coalition's move to propose the bill comes as Netanyahu faces growing pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, and his fractious right-wing coalition appears increasingly vulnerable to collapse.