Second ultra-Orthodox party quits Israeli cabinet

JERUSALEM, July 16 (Reuters) - An ultra-Orthodox party quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Wednesday following a similar move earlier this week, but left the door open to return if a dispute over military conscription was resolved.

The Shas party said it was abandoning the cabinet to protest against lawmakers' failure to guarantee future exemption from military service for religious students.

"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party also announced its walkout.

However, unlike the UTJ, a Shas spokesman said the party was not leaving the parliamentary coalition, leaving Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority.

The move means Netanyahu does not face early elections, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire.

Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the long-standing problem over whether ultra-Orthodox students should continue to be exempt from military service.