JERUSALEM — The future of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was thrown into doubt when an ultra-Orthodox party in Israel announced it was pulling out of the ruling coalition Monday night. If more parties quit, they could weaken Netanyahu’s grip on power and bring Israel a step closer to its first elections since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023.

At issue was a long-standing debate in the country over whether ultra-Orthodox religious students, who have long received exemptions from military service, can be conscripted. They argue that serving threatens their way of life, but many other Jewish Israelis resent what they regard as special treatment.

The issue has become more fraught during the Gaza war. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been killed in the conflict, prompting accusations that the ultra-Orthodox community is sitting by while others die for them in battle.

The coalition fight is unlikely to topple Netanyahu’s government immediately, analysts say. But it will inject further instability into Israeli politics as the leaders of different parties clash over a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza and as fighting continues in Lebanon and Syria.

How did Israel reach this point?

Most Jewish Israelis are conscripted into the military after high school, but ultra-Orthodox men are often exempted so they can study holy texts. The policy has prompted an emotional debate over whether they should have to enlist.

Many in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community — known in Hebrew as Haredim, or those who fear God — view full-time religious study as a supreme value. They argue that their scholarship has ensured the survival of the Jewish people for centuries.

But many experts and ordinary Israelis say this is no longer sustainable. The Haredim were a tiny minority, but they now account for about 14% of the population and are the fastest-growing community in the country. As the war in Gaza has extended to nearly two years, many Israelis, who have done hundreds of days of military duty, are feeling the strain and resent the exemption.

In June 2024, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious students. The justices said the patchwork of temporary laws and extensions that enabled the exemption had expired, leaving it without a legal basis.

That left Netanyahu with a difficult task: He could either mollify his ultra-Orthodox allies by working with parliament to pass a new exemption for their military-age men, infuriating many other Israelis in wartime; or he could rebuff his coalition partners and risk watching his government collapse.

Netanyahu has vowed to push for “a balanced, responsible and well-thought-out draft law.” A bill being debated in parliament stipulates quotas for gradually integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the army while potentially reducing public funding for individuals and religious schools that fail to comply.

Netanyahu’s advisers and Haredi leaders have continued to hammer out the details, which are still in flux.