Israeli PM Bennett loses majority after MP quits coalition

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A senior member of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Yamina party announced her resignation from his coalition government on Wednesday, leaving him without a parliamentary majority.

Bennett's coalition now has 60 MPs, the same as the opposition.

Although Idit Silman's defection does not mean the fall of the coalition, it raises the specter of a potential return to office by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, less than a year after he lost the premiership to Bennett. 

"I tried the path of unity. I worked a lot for this coalition," Silman, a religious conservative who served as coalition chairperson, said in a statement.

Israeli PM Bennett loses the majority in the Knesset after a right-wing lawmaker withdrew from the ruling coalition. pic.twitter.com/Bs7Pnyb112

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 6, 2022

On Monday, Silman slammed Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz for ordering hospitals to let leavened bread goods into their facilities for the approaching "Passover" holiday, following a recent Supreme Court ruling overturning years of restriction.

"I am ending my membership of the coalition and will try to continue to talk my friends into returning home and forming a right-wing government," Silman said. "I know I'm not the only one who feels this way."

Bennett's coalition may continue ruling with 60 seats, although with difficulty passing new legislation. 

However, if another coalition member defected, the Knesset could issue a vote of no confidence, sending "Israel" back to the polls for a fifth parliamentary election in four years.

Political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin told AFP that if Silman "is the first person to prepare to bring down the government, she is doing it from the place of conviction.' "She is religious, and I think we all underestimate the power of theology," said Scheindlin. 

According to Israeli media, Bennett called for a meeting of his party amid worries of more defections. Yamina now holds only five of the 120 seats in parliament.

'Limp government' 

At a special session of the Knesset, which is currently in recess, Netanyahu said, "There is a weak and limp government in Israel today. Its days are numbered."  

The Knesset will reconvene on May 8 to resume its legislative work. 

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu attracted Silman by promising her the health portfolio if he returned to power.

Netanyahu would need the support of at least 61 lawmakers, which he now lacks, to form his government without conducting new elections.

Bennett's former political colleague, Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionism party, expressed gratitude to Silman for her "courage to undertake the difficult choice," and predicted that the ruling coalition would not survive her departure.

"This is the beginning of the end of the left-wing, non-Zionist government of Bennett and the Islamist Movement," he claimed on Twitter.

Netanyahu; a war criminal simmering with corruption

Netanyahu has not had it so good these past couple of years, with many from his inner circle implicated in the Pandora Papers, ending up losing to Bennett and Lapid after four elections, a political gaffe in which he voted with his rivals on the budget, being lambasted in Israeli media, Donald Trump who felt "used" by the Israeli PM and lambasting him as a result, and Likud infighting that has Netanyahu losing power.

During the fourth and fifth governments of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a number of corruption scandals that directly involved Netanyahu and his close political allies had been investigated. The Israeli Police began investigating Netanyahu starting in December 2016. As a result of their investigation, police recommended indictments against Netanyahu. 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be close to making a plea bargain in his corruption trial.

If the deal goes through and Netanyahu accepts it, then he will admit to two counts of breach of trust, which will mean that he will receive a suspended sentence, in addition to a few months of jail time, which will be turned into community service.

However, one matter still remains unresolved.

Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit seems to be set on bringing charges of "moral turpitude" on Netanyahu. The former PM and war criminal seems to be trying to avoid this charge, because it would ban him from political life for seven years, effectively ending his political career.