Israel to start drafting ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday; could rattle govt

The Israeli military on Tuesday said it would begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday a step that could destabilise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The announcement followed a landmark Supreme Court order for young religious men to begin enlisting for military service. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men.

The exemptions created resentment among the general public in Israel, especially after more than nine months of war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The army summons is the beginning of a monthslong enlistment process that could be difficult to enforce if there is large-scale refusal to comply. The army did not say when it expects ultra-Orthodox men to begin serving or how many it expects to enlist.

The court ruled that the system of exemptions, which allow religious men to study in Jewish seminaries while others are forced to serve in the .