Israel’s coalition government loses its majority as right-wing lawmaker quits
She called for a right-wing government to be formed instead.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister, from whose Yamina party Silman hails, declined to comment.
It was not immediately clear what happens next. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, says the government will only fall if there is majority support for the dissolution of the Knesset — which is in recess until May 8 — or if there is a majority in parliament in favor of an alternative to the current coalition.
“Neither avenue is guaranteed,” he told CNN, noting that the coalition still holds 60 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Netanyahu’s bloc holds just 54.
There is “zero” chance, Plesner said, that the Joint List — a mainly Arab party that holds six seats and is not part of any bloc — would support Netanyahu. “What we can be sure of is that the coalition and country is turning back to crisis mode,” he said. “But how this crisis will pan out is unclear.”
The current coalition government was formed on June 13, 2021, after four elections were held in under two years. It comprises eight parties, spanning the spectrum of ideologies — from the left-wing Meretz party, to New Hope and Yamina on the right. For the first time ever, it also includes an Arab party, the United Arab List.
Under the terms of the coalition agreement, the leader of the government’s largest party, current foreign minister Yair Lapid, is due to succeed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in August 2023.
