The Joint Arab List suspends its participation in the Israeli government after the violent day in Jerusalem

Political instability is once again threatening Naftali Bennett's Israeli government after more than 10 months of relative calm. Last Friday's clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque by the Israeli authorities, which left at least 150 Palestinians injured, were the epilogue for the Joint Arab List to announce the "suspension" of its support for the government.

In a statement, the party itself announced that "if the government continues its arbitrary steps against Jerusalem and its people, we will submit a collective resignation". This decision was taken by the Shura Council of the Southern Islamic Movement, the party's umbrella organisation. Also in this regard, a member of parliament from the Ualid Taha party has noted that the coalition is "apparently" heading for collapse. However, its leader, Mansur Abbas, has called for calm in order to maintain stability in the situation.

This follows the latest day of violence in Jerusalem, where Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque and expelled worshippers from their courtyards. The clash on the Esplanade of the Mosques has resulted in more than 150 Palestinians injured, and the death of a 17-year-old minor, according to Red Crescent data, in a week of tension in the country due to the celebration of the festivities of the three monotheistic religions, Holy Week, Ramadan and Pesach.

However, the Israeli police have claimed that these clashes began with violence by people carrying flags of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). However, the day has sparked criticism of Naftali Bennett's government from these groups. Al-Fatah has stressed that it will not allow Israel to "impose its control" over the mosque, while Hamas has assured that the government "will be held accountable for its brutal assaults".

But it is the coalition government of Naftali Bennett, who may also lose the support of the Arab List, that is directly involved in these clashes. Bennett took office as prime minister last June after efforts to forge a coalition to break with Benjamin Netanyahu. But they did so with a slim majority: they had the support of 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.

This narrow parliamentary majority, together with the coalition's deep ideological divisions, guaranteed Israel's political instability in the event of losing the support of the prime minister-elect, a possibility that has already become a reality with the flight of the conservative MP at the beginning of the month, which led to the loss of Bennett's majority. 

Now, with the possible loss of support from the Arab List, with four seats in the Knesset, Naftali Bennett could face a no-confidence motion that would take Israelis to the polls again for the fifth time in four years, and this parliamentary election could bring Benjamin Netanyahu back to power, if he is able to muster the simple majority he needs and convince the United Arab List MPs. 

However, the Knesset is in recess until 5 May for the Passover holidays, a time that the executive will use, according to its prime minister, to calm the situation. For the time being, Bennett has assured that the authorities are working "to provide security for Israeli citizens". The Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, has also affirmed that Israel is committed to guaranteeing "freedom of worship for all faiths in Jerusalem".