On April 10, two days after the terrorist attack that killed three Israelis in the heart of Tel Aviv, the government approved proposed legislation to withhold welfare benefits from the families of Arab citizens or residents who engage in terrorism.

On the same day, three funerals were held for the young men shot dead in the Tel Aviv pub, bringing to 14 the number of deaths in four terrorist attacks in Israeli urban centers since March 22. Two of them, in the towns of Beersheba (March 22) and Hadera (March 27), were carried out by Arab Israelis affiliated with the Islamic State organization.

The Tel Aviv attack occurred in the midst of a deep political crisis, prompted by the April 6 resignation of Knesset whip Idit Silman, which deprived the coalition of its parliamentary majority. Silman, a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party, cited the perceived disregard by the left-wing coalition parties for the values of the right-wing electorate she represents as the reason for her stunning move.

The proposal to withhold benefits from the families of terrorists was thus intended to appease public opinion among center-right voters and signal that contrary to the opposition’s allegations, the government was not veering to the left. For Bennett, the move was aimed at preventing further defections from his coalition to the Knesset opposition.