JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged lawmakers to find a "just" replacement for a draft law that exempted tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service.

The Israeli leader has appeared before a parliamentary committee that is trying to craft a compromise law palatable to both secular and religious political parties.

Secular Jews have said the current arrangement places an unfair burden on them. The ultra-Orthodox, who skip army service to engage in full-time religious study, say they are serving the state by serving God.

Netanyahu told the panel's first meeting on Monday that a more equitable sharing of the country's defense burden must be implemented gradually, and without pitting any one sector against the other.