A heated meeting took place between the leaders of the coalition parties Wednesday afternoon, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, following the government's failure to secure a majority in the Knesset to extend the Judea and Samaria Law.
The bill, a routine piece of legislation passed every five years to temporarily extend Israeli laws in Judea and Samaria – via the Civil Administration – was pulled from the Knesset’s agenda this week after it was clear the government could not count on the support of the United Arab List. It is scheduled to be raised on the Knesset's agenda on Monday.
Sources in the coalition claimed that Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar was furious several times during the meeting and even claimed that it was impossible to function when there were parties that aligned themselves with the coalition and others did whatever they pleased.
Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid tried to calm Sa'ar and replied: "The question is whether you want to resolve the situation or dismantle the government."
In the coalition, there have even been activists among the left-wing Meretz party who decided to vote for the law. No agreement has been reached with the Ra'am party yet.
Sa’ar, who bolted the Likud ahead of last year’s elections, levelled an ultimatum to coalition factions Tuesday, demanding the left-wing Meretz and the United Arab List parties back the Judea and Samaria Law.
Yedioth Aharonoth reported Wednesday morning that Sa’ar is in talks with real estate mogul Yaakov Atrakchi, a confidant of Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu, to form a new government in the current Knesset under Netanyahu.