Israel's governing coalition increasingly unstable
After legislator Idit Silman left the coalition, and following the recent wave of terror attacks, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is fighting to keep his government together.
“The situation is tough. It can’t continue like this. [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett is bringing us all down with him, into an abyss.”
A senior minister from the leftwing flank of the ruling coalition offered this bleak prognosis April 12. In a conversation with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, the minister expressed disappointment with Bennett, who was unable to hold his tiny faction together. The minister was responding to the surprise decision by Knesset Member Idit Silman to bolt from the coalition last week. As a result, the coalition lost its slender, one-seat majority in the Knesset.
According to that minister, the coalition has no way to survive for any serious amount of time under the current circumstances. It is very possible that the government will fall within a few months.
Ever since Silman left the coalition, ministers and members of Knesset alike have been trying to relay a sense of optimism. They will not attack Bennett publicly, but the overall mood is easily detectable. They are furious at him.
