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By Jeffrey Heller
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday avoided early elections after a coalition partner stepped down from overthrowing a government with a majority in power. parliamentary as thin as the razor.
The U-turn of Education Minister Naftali Bennett surprised many experts who had predicted that the leader of the far-right Jewish Home Party would leave the scene in protest after Netanyahu had rejected his application to be appointed Minister of Defense and assumed the post himself.
Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, is making an ultimate effort to prevent the collapse of the government, which has only a majority of a seat in parliament since Avigdor Lieberman resigned as head of defense last week.
Lieberman, ultra-nationalist, bypassed Netanyahu on his right by announcing his resignation at the government's acceptance of a ceasefire with Hamas, the dominant armed group in Gaza, in a context of soaring of cross-border violence
"You win, you lose," said Bennett in a televised speech, noting Netanyahu's rejection of his offer for the defense post, long regarded in Israel as his second-largest portfolio.
If Bennett had pulled his party out of the weakened coalition, as had threatened the Jewish Home officials, Netanyahu would have ended up with a minority government, which would likely make early election before a national poll that should to take place before November 2019.
Bennett said the Jewish Home party was withdrawing all its political demands and would support the prime minister to four terms.
SECURITY CHALLENGES
In a speech Sunday night calling on coalition partners to remain loyal, Netanyahu spoke of unspecified security issues ahead and hinted at Israel's future action against its enemies.
He repeated this theme in remarks to the Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, in which he declared that "together we can overcome any challenge and ensure the security of Israel".
These comments left Israeli commentators on political and military affairs wondering whether Netanyahu was actually considering new military actions, either in Gaza or possibly against Hezbollah guerrilla missile sites in Lebanon, or whether he was conducting a political action that would interest his right-wing voters.
An opinion poll last week revealed that Israelis, including those living outside border areas and hit by more than 400 rockets in Gaza during the shooting, were unhappy with Netanyahu in the face of the continuing threat of Israeli blockade.
It was a rare plunge in popularity for a leader who is about to become Israel's first minister at the oldest service.
"National security is beyond politics," Netanyahu said in his Sunday speech. "I will not say tonight when we will act and how, I have a clear plan, I know what to do and when to do it, and we will do it."
In his own speech, Bennett said that he wanted to believe that Netanyahu was serious about the threats to Israel.
If so, he said: "I say here to the Prime Minister:" We are withdrawing all our political demands and we are standing by your side in this gigantic task for Israel to start winning again. "
(Report by Jeffrey Heller and Maayan Lubell, edited by Kevin Liffey, Richard Balmforth)
