Israel’s ruling coalition became a minority in parliament on Thursday when MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi pulled her support for the government, throwing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s hold on power into question, The New Arab reported.
Rinawie Zoabi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the left-wing Meretz Party, announced she was resigning in a letter circulated in Israeli media due to “ideological” issues.
MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (Meretz) Just announced that she's resigning from the coalition, this means that the opposition now holds the majority in the Knesset 61-59 pic.twitter.com/9AkDhsfpXs
— Politics of Israel (@politicsIsrael_) May 19, 2022
Rinawie Zoabi cited the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and Israeli violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque earlier this year as factors in her decision to resign.
She also slammed the coalition government’s decision to take “hawkish, hard-line and right-wing positions”, which follows Israel’s killing of the Abu Akleh and other acts of brutality against Palestinians.
She said she joined the coalition – which includes far-right Israeli parties and a Palestinian Islamist group – in the hope of “a new path of equality and respect”.
Her resignation leaves Bennett controlling 59 of the 120 seats in the Knesset with questions over his ability to govern.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
