Israel ministers protest against their own government

Israeli ministers yesterday took part in anti-government protests held in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, Arab48 reported.

The action was organised by Israeli Jewish settlers to protest against the increasing number of Palestinian resistance attacks against illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

About 200 settlers, in addition to a number of ministers and heads of settlement councils, gathered and criticised Netanyahu, who also holds the post of defence minister.

They accused Netanyahu of failing to combat the Palestinian resistance and called for him to approve the illegal outposts in the occupied territories, as well as to expand the illegal Ofra settlement, where two Israeli soldiers were killed last week and a third sustained serious injuries.

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In addition, the settlers called for preventing Palestinians from passing through the occupied West Bank’s main streets which should only be used by settlers themselves.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Home ministers who participated in the protests criticised Netanyahu during the cabinet meeting last week.

“You are taking undesired action,” Netanyahu told the Jewish Home ministers. “The security institution is carrying out its work properly. We have heard about your conditions and threats,” he added.

Tensions between the Jewish Home and Netanyahu rose after the shock resignation of Avigdor Lieberman from the post of defence minister in mid-November. The right-wing Jewish Home party had threatened to withdraw from the government coalition if its head, Naftali Bennett, was not named Lieberman’s successor.

However Bennett dropped his threat to withdraw days later saying he had decided to “stand by the prime minister’s side,” and not act on his ultimatum to leave the government.