Israeli premier calls for maintaining government coalition amid crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday urged his coalition parties to preserve the unity of the government amidst a major crisis threatening its fate.

"Political instability is not healthy for the state," Bennett said at the opening of the Knesset's summer session.

"We must gather all our strength to maintain the coalition and even widen it," he added.

After 11 months in office, Bennett's coalition has lost its parliamentary majority as his party is crumbling following the withdrawal of figures from his right-wing nationalist Yamina Party.

For his part, former Israeli Premier and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Bennett's government for Israel's current political crisis.

"This weak and fraudulent government is incapable of standing even for a moment against the submissive policies of the American administration against Iran, just as it is incapable of fighting Hamas," he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel daily.

In June 2021, Bennett came to power in Israel leading a coalition of eight parties, including the Arab Ra'am party, putting an end to Netanyahu's over 12 years in office.