Israeli government shaken, 'real drama is unfolding in the Knesset'
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An AFP analysis exposes the deep divisions within the Israeli government after Al-Naqab's recent events.
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Protests in Al-Naqab, occupied Palestine, over the Israeli occupation's bulldozing of Palestinian land in January 2022.
The Israeli government, in an AFP analysis, seems "flexible enough" to withstand a test by controversial initiatives that include the "tree-planting" project in Al-Naqab, which has recently resulted in the arresting of over 100 Palestinians, including assaults.
Al-Naqab is home to many Palestinian Bedouins, which are an electoral base in the Israeli parliament for some of the parties. For instance, Mansour Abbas' Joint Arab List Party, or "Raam", threatened to withdraw support for the coalition as a response to the "forestation" work.
Palestinians in Al-Naqab have been fighting hard against their uprooting from their villages, which have witnessed the bulldozing of homes and occupation violence in the past week. The Israeli occupation has been escalating efforts to annex land in Al-Naqab, which comprises over half of historical Palestine.
The ongoing situation had the Israeli coalition government possibly lose important backers in the elections. Thus, any side in the coalition can "hog the covers," an Israeli expert at the Department of Political Studies, Zeev Khanin, said to Sputnik. "Today, Mansur Abbas is the kingmaker. What we see is called a mobilization of discontented groups of the population for the purpose of exerting pressure on the government."
The Israeli government, however, has never voted a government out of office, but rather has been undermined from within. The set-up of the parliament is a reflection of deep divisions within "Israel". The government supported the "tree-planting" in Al-Naqab while witnessing "right-wing" demonstrations outside Bennett's office for making concessions with Palestinians.
Find out more: What's going on in Al-Naqab in Palestine?
Ksenia Svetlova, a former Israeli lawmaker, said the ongoing crisis exposed the coalition's fragility and could be seen as a sign of the "beginning of the end" for Bennett's government.
"A real drama is unfolding in the Knesset: the coalition does not have a majority, and its members have left the plenary. Raam does not back the coalition due to problems in the Negev, Nir Orbach from Yamina left the Knesset in protest, saying he would not vote until Abbas changes its stance," said Svetlova.
Palestinians greatly supported the people of Al-Naqab in their resistance against the Israeli occupation, pushing for the "Joint List" to coerce the Israeli government to put its actions to a halt, considering that it is not the right time to take such arbitrary initiatives, according to Khanin.
Find out more: In just 2 days, what did “Israel” do?
"I believe that the Negev situation is over… The Joint List announced that it will return to voting on different draft laws alongside the coalition starting next week. That is why I believe this storm is on the winding down and it will likely not have lasting impacts," said Wael Karim, an expert on Israeli affairs at "Tel Aviv" University.
Why is the coalition unlikely to dissolve? A common enemy, of course
Wael Karim contended that although it is unlikely that the coalition will dissolve any time soon, its "fight against the common enemy," former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remains a unifying factor.
"Government’s constituent parties have one common enemy and that is Netanyahu. Everyone understands that if this government fell, Netanyahu is the main candidate to replace this cabinet. That would mean a return to the previous era and he would seek revenge against those that locked him out of power. That is why I believe that despite all the differences between the different parties in this coalition, common hate for Netanyahu is the factor that keeps the coalition together," he explained.
