Posted on 06/14/22
| News Source: i24
Orbach was reportedly absent from a meeting of the Yamina party earlier Monday
Israeli media reported on Monday that member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's right-wing Yamina party Nir Orbach said he was no longer part of the fragile coalition.
“I told the PM this morning that given the current situation, I am no longer part of the coalition,” he said in a message sent by his office, according to Reuters.
“After a week of meetings with the PM and others, I’ve come to the conclusion that the coalition cannot continue to operate the way it is now."
However, he confirmed he would not vote to dissolve the parliament, saying, "I will work with all my might for a stable government with a national spirit.”
“Extremist and anti-Zionist actors like MKs Ghanaim and Zoabi have taken the coalition in problematic directions. They have held it hostage the whole time,” he continued.
His departure left Bennett's coalition two short of a majority, with 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset (parliament).
Orbach was reportedly absent from a Yamina party meeting earlier Monday, as each coalition party held faction meetings.
Labor leader Merav Michaeli called on coalition rebels Orbach, Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of left-wing Meretz, Mazen Ghanaim of Islamist Ra'am and Michael Biton of Blue and White during her faction meeting.
"I call on my friends and colleagues - Nir, Ghaida, Mazen, Michael - do not let all our great achievements go down the drain," she said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"Do not let them confuse you, lie to you and sell you all kinds of fiction and legends. You are partners in the miracle that happened here, in this government that is so important, in this historic coalition. We all share the responsibility to ensure it continues, for the State of Israel and for the people of the State of Israel."