Israel’s Muslim party split on toeing coalition line

The past few days were difficult, and not just for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with Yamina legislators rebelling against him, but also for Mansour Abbas, head of the Muslim Ra’am party. He too had to cope with a legislator refusing to toe the line with the policies of the government. To a large extent, the difficulties of Bennett and Abbas are intertwined and feed on each other.

The coalition had lost its narrow majority last April when Yamina Knesset member Idit Silman decided to join the opposition. Shortly after that, Bennett was forced to oust Yamina renegade Knesset member Amichai Shikli. Still, Bennett’s problems were far from over. In a surprise move last month, Meretz Knesset member Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi announced she was also quitting the coalition. After much negotiation, she decided to come back but did not promise to support government bills.

Despite this turmoil, the government went ahead this week with controversial votes, including the renewal of emergency regulations on Israeli criminal law implemented in West Bank settlements. Ra’am legislator Mazen Ghnaim and Meretz’s Rinawie Zoabi voted against extending the regulations. Three other Knesset members from Ra’am, including Abbas, absented themselves from the plenum at the time of the vote.

Failure of passing the regulations infuriated some Yamina members, leading to hints by associates of Knesset member Nir Orbach that he was in contact with the Likud and considering leaving the coalition. Reportedly, Orbach’s deliberation on whether to resign from the coalition was born out of frustration over the coalition’s inability to function properly and pass laws, and especially over the vote of Ghnaim and Rinawie Zoabi.