Coalition granted weekend reprieve after ‘good’ Bennett-Orbach meeting

The floundering government coalition appeared poised to at least survive the weekend, after a meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and a rumored defector passed uneventfully Thursday evening.

Following their meeting, Bennett and Yamina MK Nir Orbach issued a brief joint statement that did not provide any details of their discussion.

“The meeting was good, we will meet once again on Sunday,” the statement said.

Orbach was at the center of speculation on Thursday as the latest potential defector in the government. After months of teetering on the brink of collapse, the coalition was dealt three consecutive blows this week, leaving its future on even shakier ground.

The Yamina MK has publicly denied persistent reports that he is negotiating with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to potentially join Likud and form an alternate government. But sources close to Orbach have told Hebrew language media that he is exploring such a possibility.

At their meeting in Tel Aviv, Orbach reportedly told Bennett — who just returned from a one-day trip to the United Arab Emirates — that he intends to bring down the government within a few days if renegade MKs in Meretz and Ra’am are not reined in.

The two lawmakers sat down face to face in the early hours of Thursday morning as well, in a meeting that also ended without any definitive developments.

Orbach reportedly told Bennett during the earlier meeting that “it’s over,” and it was only a matter of time before the government falls. According to the Kan public broadcaster, Orbach also told the prime minister that the coalition has no shot at successfully passing a state budget next year, which would ultimately doom the government.

If Orbach exits the coalition, the government would be left with just 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset, placing it in the minority, although not all opposition lawmakers are aligned. The right-wing MK has been pegged as a flight risk in recent months since the defection of fellow Yamina lawmaker Idit Silman, and has issued ultimatums for his continued support of the government.

The latest blow to the coalition came on Wednesday, when it failed to thwart opposition-backed bills hiking the minimum wage after some coalition lawmakers voted in favor of the legislation. The embarrassment came shortly after the coalition failed to pass a key bill on Monday renewing the application of some Israeli law on West Bank settlers, and then hours later was unable to reappoint Matan Kahana as religious services minister.

The right-wing members of the coalition, including Yamina and New Hope lawmakers, have become increasingly frustrated with some MKs in Meretz and Ra’am who have refused to back legislation agreed upon by the government.