Disunity Grows in Netanyahu Government

Although Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu seems to be in no political jeopardy vis-à-vis public support according to polling, his governing coalition continues to fracture. The latest examples are a broadside against Netanyahu himself from Minister Naftali Bennett, one of the successful newcomers to be seated after the last election; the internecine struggle between Bennett and Yair Lapid, the other big-winning newbie whose unlikely, de facto partnership with Bennett dictated a good portion of the ultimate shape of the coalition; and the brutal verbal assaults on Minister Tzipi Livni by Bennett. The latest attack on the prime minister came in response to Netanyahu’s comment that he sees no reason why Jews cannot live as a minority in the future state of Palestine – an idea that has already been rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Bennett, who heads the party called “The Jewish Home” and accused Netanyahu of “ethical befuddlement,” saying his position “undermines our presence in Tel Aviv,” was not alone in his anger. Three deputy ministers from Netanyahu’s own Likud party also issued angry public protests. The prime minister has not explained the apparent conflict between his statement on Jews living as minorities in Palestine and his other statement last week in which he vowed that no post-1967 Israeli community (“settlement”) will be uprooted. On Monday, Israeli media reported comments by Bennett describing Lapid’s rulership of his “There is a Future” party as “dictatorial.”