Knesset Arab member quits ruling coalition
ISTANBUL – A member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) has announced her withdrawal from the ruling coalition government.
Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi – an Arab lawmaker from the leftist Meretz Party – said that she will not “support a coalition that is disgracefully harassing the society I come from.”
Zoabi cited the government’s harsh position on Arab issues, such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, the demolition of Arabs’ homes, lands confiscation in the Negev area and the Israeli controversial citizenship law, as reasons behind her decision.
The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper said Zoabi’s decision was a surprise for all, as she did not even inform her party of her resignation.
The move puts Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition on the brink of collapse where the coalition now has 59 members in the 120-seat Knesset.
The coalition was formed of 61 Knesset members from eight Israeli parties, in June 2021.
Zoabi’s withdrawal is the second since lawmaker Idit Silman from the right-wing Yamina Party quit the coalition in April.
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