Israel's Interior Minister rallies the Right
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, once considered the next leader of the Israeli right, has gotten into snowballing disagreements with ministers on the left.
Just three hours after the March 29 terrorist attack in the city of Bnei Brak in central Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s image flashed on the digital attendance board in the Knesset, signifying that the opposition leader was in the building. Within minutes, Knesset members Yariv Levin and Shlomi Karhi of his Likud party had joined him there.
It was close to midnight, and of all the 120 members of Knesset, they were the only ones in the building. While this was happening, Israelis were glued to their TV sets, watching the chilling news from the third deadly attack in a week.
For Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his government, this new wave of terrorism is a security challenge right in the middle of a major public and political crisis.
That is why Netanyahu's late-night appearance in the Knesset immediately led to speculation that he was planning a new political maneuver to bring down the Bennett-Lapid government. And the immediate suspect for person most likely to help him get a Knesset majority is Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.
