Israel: Faced with clashes in Jerusalem, Naftali Bennett and his coalition weakened

Published on: 04/17/2022 – 22:22 The Arab Israeli Raam party “suspended” its participation in Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government coalition on Sunday evening due to the violence at the esplanade of the Jerusalem Mosques. Naftali Bennett’s government appears weakened after a new wave of violence on Sunday, April 17, which injured more than twenty people in and around the esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem. Early on Sunday, “hundreds” of Palestinian demonstrators began piling up “stones” at the esplanade shortly before religious Jews arrived at the spot, considered Judaism’s holiest and Islam’s third holiest site, Israel Police said. Israeli security forces intervened on the esplanade, located in the Old City in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied since 1967 by Israel, giving rise to clashes but also to criticism in the Muslim world. Palestinian Red reported 19 wounded Palestinians, some of whom were hit by rubber bullets, two days after clashes that injured more than 150. However, in the evening, the Israeli Arab party Raam announced to “suspend” its support for Prime Minister Bennett’s coalition, which last June rallied parties of the right, left, center, and for the first time in the history of Israel, an Arab formation, to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power. The threat of a “collective resignation” “If the government continues its arbitrary measures” at the esplanade of the Mosques, “we will submit a collective resignation”, warned Raam in his press release. Raam has four deputies in the coalition, which currently has 60, one less than the majority threshold. This freezing of Raam’s participation in the coalition has no short-term effect for the government of Naftali Bennett because the work of the Knesset is suspended until May 5. In the meantime, however, the Prime Minister is trying to calm things down and stabilize his coalition, political sources in Jerusalem told AFP. In early April, the government had already lost its majority in Parliament with the departure of a member of the radical right. The latter had mentioned the government’s decision to authorize the distribution in hospitals of bread with leaven, or “hametz”, during Passover, the Jewish Passover, which is contrary to tradition. For its part, the Likud party of Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called again on Sunday for right-wing lawmakers to leave the coalition to form a “right-wing government” that also brings together orthodox and far-right Jewish parties. “When Jews can no longer marching safely to Jerusalem for Passover…there are right-wing MKs in the coalition who understand that this government has come to the end of its course,” Likud said as buses of Israelis drove by. target of stone throwing by Palestinians on Sunday. With AFP