A member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), who is the chairwoman of the ruling coalition, has announced her resignation in a move that leaves the regime of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett without a majority at the legislature.
MK Idit Silman, of the right-wing Yamina party, said on Wednesday that she is quitting the ruling coalition and will instead work to form a new one.
Silman’s announcement left Bennett’s coalition – an alliance of parties ranging from the Jewish right to an Arab Muslim party – with 60 seats, the same as the opposition at the 120-member parliament.
“I will not abet the harming of the Jewish identity of … Israel and the people of Israel. I will continue to try to persuade my friends to return home and form a right-wing government,” she said in a statement.
“I know I am not the only one who feels this way. Another government can be formed in this Knesset.”
Earlier this week, the lawmaker lashed out at Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, leader of the left-wing Meretz party, after he instructed hospitals to allow leavened bread products into their facilities during the upcoming Passover holiday.
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This is while under religious rules, unleavened bread is not allowed in the public domain during Passover.
Silman did not tell Bennett of her resignation in advance, leaving the premier to learn through media reports that he had lost his parliamentary majority, according to reports.
Opposition head and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to congratulate Silman for what he called a “courageous move.”
“I was very moved to hear MK Idit Silman’s statement, and I congratulate her on behalf of the masses of the people of Israel who yearned for this moment,” the former premier said in a video statement.
“I call on all those elected by the national camp to join Idit and come home, you will be received with complete respect and with open arms.”
Netanyahu would need the support of at least 61 lawmakers in order to form a coalition of his own without new elections.
Far-right MK Bezalel Smotrich, of the Religious Zionism party, predicted that Israel’s ruling coalition would not survive.
“This is the beginning of the end of the left-wing, non-Zionist government of Bennett and the Islamist Movement,” he tweeted.
The development comes amid growing tensions within the Israeli coalition, which last year united different parties to oust Netanyahu after a series of inconclusive elections that paralyzed the Knesset for two years.
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