The Yamina party is reportedly embroiled in internal disputes, with those close to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett criticizing the recent behavior of Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, and accusing her of damaging the stability of the coalition.
According to Bennett's confidants, "Shaked is inflaming tensions with her announcement regarding the Temple Mount and her welcoming of the convening of the Planning Council for building in the settlements. Shaked is poking a finger in the eye of her coalition partners. If she continues in this way, the government will end just like it started."
The "This Morning" show on Kan Reshet Bet was the first to publicize the comments, which followed closely on the heels of threats issued by the Ra'am (United Arab List) party with regard to a continuation of its refusal to cooperate with the coalition. With other coalition members seeking to appease Ra'am leader MK Mansour Abbas, Bennett preferred to keep the disputes under wraps, which is why he has not been in any hurry to issue a statement regarding either two of the contentious issues. However, those close to him reportedly regard Shaked's statements as having caused irretrievable damage.
Nonetheless, Bennett's office issued a statement denying any conflict within the party, saying that, "There is no dispute with the Interior Minister and no such words were said."
Meanwhile, Bennett is also seeking to ensure that the role of coalition chairman remains within his party, following the departure of MK Idit Silman, and has allegedly asked MK Nir Orbach to assume the position. However, Orbach has responded that at the present time, he would prefer not to serve as coalition whip, for two reasons: first, Bennett has yet to fulfill all the conditions of Orbach's ultimatum, issued immediately after Silman's departure; second, he wants to see how the next few weeks play out first and assess the stability of the coalition, especially given the ongoing tensions with Ra'am. Therefore, Orbach has stated his preference for MK Boaz Toporovsky to remain as temporary coalition chairman for the meantime, and intends to revisit the question in another few weeks.
In the New Hope party, which polls predict will not pass the electoral threshold in new elections, Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel responded to the statement of MK Mansour Abbas, indicating that King Abdallah of Jordan would decide his party's policies, by insisting that "nothing has changed."
"There is no change in Israeli sovereignty, not on the Temple Mount and not anywhere else," Hendel said on Kan Reshet Bet on Sunday. "Nor will there be," he added. "Israeli sovereignty throughout Jerusalem remains extremely important. There are no other players in Jerusalem."
Abbas has continued to stress that his party will defer to the Jordanians with regard to policy on Jerusalem, writing (in Arabic) on his Facebook page on Saturday that, "I have informed the Prime Minister and the Alternate Prime Minister [Yair Lapid] of our clear and determined position, following our meeting with the King of Jordan. Our demands and positions on the Al Aqsa Mosque have been determined by King Abdallah the Second, who is charged with the preservation of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites of Jerusalem. We stress that the permanent solution is the end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem its capital and at its heart, the Al Aqsa Mosque."