Israel’s opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eying a return to power as Naftali Bennett-led coalition loses its majority in the parliament. The political turmoil began on Wednesday after lawmaker and ruling coalition’s whip, Idit Silma, resigned from the government and announced her support for a new right-wing alliance in the Knesset.
Silman accused Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition, which includes the Arab-Islamist Ra’am Party, of harming the Jewish identity of the country. “I will not abet the harming of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and the people of Israel. I will continue to try to persuade my friends to return home and form a right-wing government,” Silman said. “I know I am not the only one who feels this way. Another government can be formed in this Knesset,” she added.
As proposed by Silman, a right-wing government can only be formed with the support of former Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose Likud is the single largest party in the Knesset with 29 seats.
Netanyahu congratulated Silman and urged right-wing parties in the ruling coalition to “come home” under Likud’s leadership. “I call on all those elected by the [right-wing] camp to join [Silman] Idit and come home. You will be welcomed with complete respect and with open arms,” he said.
The Times of Israel reported Netanyahu’s call for right-wing unity:
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu attended a right-wing rally held in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, calling on right-wing lawmakers in the coalition “to return home,” amid a coalition crisis that has revived his hopes of toppling the government and returning to power.The rally, attended by thousands of right-wing activists, was originally meant to protest the rampant violence that has recently swept the country, with a wave of deadly terror attacks not seen in years.But dramatic events unfolding since Wednesday morning shifted the focus of the event toward internal politics, with Netanyahu calling on Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to resign and urging unity among right-wing lawmakers.The former prime minister replied, “We’ve come here today to tell this weak and flaccid government only one thing: Go home!”“Go home, because you’re harming the Jewish identity of the country. Go home, because you’re harming people’s livelihood. Go home, because you’re neglecting Judea and Samaria. Go home, because you’re weak — weak on Iran, weak on terror,” Netanyahu said.He urged right-wing lawmakers in the current coalition to “put aside old grudges and return to the national camp,” referring to the political bloc led by his Likud party.“Tonight, I want to tell you: It’s time for unity. It’s time to come home… Our door is always open. It’s open for anyone who was elected by votes from the right and wants to bring Israel back to the moral track, to the strong track, the winning track,” he said.
Prime Minister Bennett’s government lost the majority less than ten months after forming a coalition, ending Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure at the helm. The current coalition is an uneasy alliance of eight parties ranging from right-wing parties to the Arab-Islamist bloc. The broad coalition, widely seen as an alliance to keep Prime Minister Netanyahu out of office, came to power on a thin majority — holding 60 seats in a 120 member Knesset.
While it will be premature to eulogize the ruling coalition, the new development opens several paths to Netanyahu’s return to power. With other right-wing lawmakers threatening to leave the ruling coalition, Netanyahu could form an alternative government. If no alliance manages to prove a majority in the Knesset, the country will go through fresh elections.
Netanyahu’s Likud is leading in current opinion polls. “According to a poll by Channel 13, the Likud would earn 38 seats, Religious Zionist would earn eight seats and Shas and UTJ would earn seven seats. This would mean that Netanyahu’s bloc could earn 60 seats,” The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.
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