Leader of Islamist party leader says Israeli government not only unites Arab party with Zionist ones, but also brings together members from the Left and the Right while succeeding to decide policy.
Leader of the Islamist Ra’am party, Mansour Abbas, said Wednesday the coalition of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was a successful experiment that has brought together opposing sides of the political spectrum.
“We formed a very special government,” Abbas said during a conference at Reichman University.
“Our challenge is to bring stability to the political system and continue as part of the coalition and the government,” he said.
“Although I’ve heard a member of Bennett’s party say that the experiment failed, but I believe he was wrong.”
Bennett ally and member of the Yamina party spoke of the failure of the experiment immediately after the opposition blocked government legislation to renew regulations that extend Israeli law to the West Bank settlements.
“The government is special not only because it includes an Arab party along side Zionist ones, but also because it is able to operate and reach agreements on all sectors of Israeli society including the Arabs, with parties on the left and on the right,” he said.
“Our parties are able to work together although individual members are struggling to do so,” Abbas said.
Mazen Ghanaim, a member of Ra’am was one of two Arab coalition legislators who joined the opposition to foil the bill.
After the former coalition whip Yamina member of Knesset Idit Silman announced she was moving her support to the opposition in April, the coalition had lost its parliamentary majority and had been struggling to advance its legislations.
According to the coalition agreement on which the government is based, should the government fall, the leader of the caretaker cabinet will be from the opposing side.
Had the government fallen because Arab legislators blocked legislation with the help of the right-wing opposition, Bennett would head the caretaker government but if a right-wing member of the coalition causes it to fall, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will take the reigns and be prime minister until a new government is formed.