‘Facing a real test’: Bennett warns Israel on brink of collapse

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that the state is on the brink of collapse, as it is “facing a real test”.

Bennett made the remarks in an open letter published to the public on Friday, calling for support to maintain the fragile coalition which is currently a minority government after losing its parliamentary majority last month.

“Our unified sovereignty has disintegrated twice in ancient times due to internal conflicts. The first break-up took place 80 years after its foundation, whereas the second one came about 77 years later. We are now living in the third era, and are approaching the 80-year mark. We are all facing a real test, and wondering to whether we will be able to preserve Israel,” Bennett stated in the communique sent on the first anniversary of the establishment of the coalition government.

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“A few days ago, we were heading towards the fifth election campaign that could split up our land. I took the most difficult decision of my life, which was to form a national rescue cabinet to save Israel from chaos and to restore it. I partnered people who had completely different views from mine,” he said.

He also mentioned the “Chaos, endless election spin, government paralysis, the cities of Lod and Acre burning in the face of a humiliated and conflicted government,” referring to last year’s uprisings  involving Arab-Israeli citizens amid Israeli provocations in occupied-East Jerusalem and military aggression against Gaza.

Israel displayed “terrible weakness in the face of a murderous enemy that fired rockets at Jerusalem,” he added, and was restricted by “the worship of one man and the enslavement of the state’s energy to his legal needs,” referring to opposition leader and then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption charges.

According to a recent survey published by Israel Hayom, at least 69 per cent of illegal Israeli settlers are worried about Israel’s bleak future. The poll also revealed that 66 per cent of settlers do not trust the Israeli security forces, while 67 per cent support possession of firearms and imposition of fines “in order to prevent skirmishes and confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians inside the occupied territories.”

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