Meretz MK has no demands for rejoining coalition: ‘For now, she’s out’

Dissident Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi has no immediate demands or conditions under which she might return to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s minority government, a spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

“It’s too early to talk about demands. For now, she’s out of the coalition,” a spokesperson for Rinawie Zoabi says.

Rinawie Zoabi — whose refusal to vote with the ailing coalition on key bills had given her colleagues headaches — was set to be shuttled off to Shanghai to serve as Israeli consul in the Chinese metropolis. She withdrew her nomination for the post when she left the coalition, her spokesperson says.

The spokesperson declines to comment on whether Rinawie Zoabi had informed her fellow Meretz members before announcing her resignation.

Another Meretz official tells The Times of Israel that they only learned about the resignation when media reports broke this afternoon.