The Muslim Ra’am party announced May 11 it intends to stay in the coalition. The dramatic announcement came after a nerve-wracking day, where all eyes in Israeli politics were focused on the decision of the Shura Council that spiritually guides Ra’am.

Addressing the press, Ra’am Chairman Mansour Abbas said, “We reached understandings for the betterment of Arab society and Israelis in general. We decided to come back and create an opportunity for the coalition agreements to be implemented.” Abbas now offers Prime Minister Naftali Bennett another chance for their political partnership, by returning to full working relations with the coalition.

The press conference of Abbas ended three weeks of a political crisis, after Ra’am’s April 17 decision to freeze its membership in the coalition. The freeze decision was taken at the time by the Shura Council, on the backdrop of clashes on the Temple Mount between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

Abbas now offers Bennett another chance for their political partnership, returning to full working relations with the coalition. More important even, the announcement of Abbas put an end to opposition attempts, led by the Likud, to advance a vote to dissolve the Knesset. Indeed, minutes after the press conference, the opposition decided to withdraw a proposed no-confidence vote against the government.