Coalition Cabinet of Netanyahu Faces Growing Risk of Collapse
The English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News agency and Russia Al-Youm, reports that the Netanyahu cabinet’s decision to authorize limited, gradual entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza over a few hours-made under intense international pressure and aimed at improving Israel’s tarnished image-has sparked strong anger among Netanyahu’s coalition partners: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Smotrich stated that his party is holding urgent political consultations to assess the cabinet’s future. He pointed to a crisis of confidence regarding Netanyahu’s leadership.
Ben-Gvir’s affiliated party is also engaging in talks concerning continued participation in Netanyahu’s coalition. The maariv newspaper reported clear signs of fragmentation within the right-wing bloc.
Internal divisions within Israel’s ruling coalition are not new. However, departure by either Ben-gvir or Smotrich’s parties could topple Netanyahu’s government by stripping it of its parliamentary majority. Previously, the United Torah Judaism party had already left the coalition.
