UPDATE - Israeli government survives no-confidence motion with help from Arab Joint List

UPDATES WITH NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION RESULT, CHANGES TITLE, DECK, LEDE, EDITS THROUGH

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Arab Joint List on Monday voted against a no-confidence motion in the Knesset, a move that kept Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition government alive.

The Arab Joint List, which is not a member of the coalition but has six seats in the Knesset, justified its move as a way to block former long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power.

After the vote, it said it will not back any move that returns Netanyahu to power, stressing at the same time that it will only act for the interests of the Arab community in Israel.

The opposition parties led by Netanyahu submitted a no-confidence motion but could not meet the required threshold of 61 deputies voting against and 52 in favor, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Notably, the Arab Ra'am party, a coalition government member with four Knesset seats, was not present at the session.

-‘Political instability not healthy’

Earlier on Monday, Bennett urged his coalition parties to preserve the unity of the government amid a major crisis threatening its fate.

"Political instability is not healthy for the state,” Bennett said at the opening of the Knesset's summer session.

“We must gather all our strength to maintain the coalition and even widen it," he added.

After 11 months in office, Bennett's coalition has lost its parliamentary majority as his party is crumbling following the withdrawal of figures from his right-wing nationalist Yamina Party.

For his part, Netanyahu blamed Bennett's government for Israel's current political crisis.

"This weak and fraudulent government is incapable of standing even for a moment against the submissive policies of the American administration against Iran, just as it is incapable of fighting Hamas terrorism," he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel daily.

In June 2021, Bennett came to power in Israel leading a coalition of eight parties, including the Ra'am party, putting an end to Netanyahu's over 12 years in office.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar