It’s a ritual by now. The prime minister decides to release Palestinian prisoners, and HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett and his fellows shout out from every possible forum how they oppose such a “detrimental” move. The government approves the decision anyway, and the next day, it is back to business as usual, as if nothing happened. That’s exactly what happened two months ago, on Aug. 12, and that’s what happened this week, on Oct. 27.

It is safe to assume that HaBayit Hayehudi’s ministers have not yet managed to forget during their short term in office a lesson that all young Israelis learn in high-school civics class. According to the principle of joint responsibility, all ministers bear responsibility for all the decisions and actions of the government, regardless of whether they voted for or against them. As such, the only way to see the ruckus that HaBayit HaYehudi caused before the vote is as a cynical and ugly act of provocation, intended to draw fire away from them.

There is nothing that Economy and Trade Minister Bennett can do to absolve himself of responsibility for the decision, not even if he scrawls a thousand times on his Facebook page that the release of terrorists is dangerous and shameful, and that it weakens the government. He is nonetheless a party to the release, exactly the same way that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is after voting for it. Bennett’s attempts over the past few days to turn Livni into the focus of public criticism are both ridiculous and untrustworthy.

All too often, the chair of HaBayit HaYehudi forgets that he is also a member of the more compact diplomatic-security cabinet. He acts irresponsibly instead, as if he were a member of the opposition who just happened to have a seat in the state of Israel’s most sensitive forums. He attacks the government’s decisions on diplomatic issues and embarrasses the prime minister in the international arena.