NETANYAHU SAVES HIS COALITION.
• Benjamin Netanyahu’s government survived a political crisis after a coalition partner backtracked from threats to bring down his administration and trigger early elections.
The Israeli government looked to be on the verge of collapse Monday morning after Netanyahu refused to give the Jewish Home party control of the defence ministry.
Naftali Bennett, the Jewish Home leader, called a press conference where he was widely expected to announce he was resigning from the cabinet and bringing down the government.
Instead, Bennett seemed to blink in his standoff with the prime minister. He said he would stay in the government despite Netanyahu’s refusal to appoint him defence minister.
Netanyahu took the defence minister’s post for himself, meaning he is currently serving as Israel’s prime minister, foreign minister, defence minister and health minister.
In a speech at the defence ministry Sunday, Netanyahu said it would be “irresponsible” to bring down the government in the midst of a sensitive security situation and seemed to indicate a more hawkish approach toward Hamas in Gaza.
Bennett, who had fiercely criticized Netanyahu for not doing more to confront Hamas, said he had stepped back from forcing elections after watching the prime minister’s speech.
“If the prime minister is serious in his intention, and I wish to believe his words yesterday, then I’m saying today: ‘We’re taking away all political demands and we’re going to help you in this huge mission to make sure that Israel will go back to prevailing.’ ”
“If the government would really start leading toward the right path, acting like a real right-wing government, it’s worth trying,” he added. “The ball is in the prime minister’s court.”
Bennett’s announcement seemed to be an abrupt about-face from Friday afternoon, when Jewish Home said there was “no possibility of continuing the current government” and called for early elections.
Bennett seemed to acknowledge that he had lost face but said his decision was in the best interests of Israel.
“I suppose that I will pay a political price in the next few hours or days. Never mind, you win some you lose some. It’s preferable that the prime minister win me over in a political battle than (the leader of Hamas) will prevail over the state of Israel.”
Netanyahu is still leading a fragile coalition with only 61 seats in the 120-member Israeli parliament.