Israel: Bennett loses majority after Arab MP quits
Naftali Bennett's government risks a crisis after a left-wing Arab lawmaker, Jida Rinawi Zoabi of the Meretz party, announced on Thursday that she was quitting the coalition. - AP photo
TEL AVIV: Naftali Bennett's government risks a crisis after a left-wing Arab lawmaker - Jida Rinawi Zoabi of the Meretz party - announced on Thursday that she was quitting the coalition.
As a consequence, Bennett now leads a de-facto minority government, with the support in the Knesset of only 59 lawmakers out of 120, according to Italian news agency (ANSA).
According to the media, Zoabi's move came as a total surprise not only for Bennett but also for the Meretz party that immediately tried to dissuade her, so far in vain.
In an open letter, Zoabi denounced that she can't identify with the "radical and right-wing positions" taken by the government.
"The images seen" at the holy site in Jerusalem known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount of "police violence against worshippers" and the "funeral of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh have led me to a conclusion: enough. I can't support a government that mistreats a society from which I come", she said.
-- BERNAMA
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