The head of the Arab faction Ra'am Mansour Abbas, who holds the balance of power in the Knesset, announced on Monday that he was suspending his talks with the various parties in the so-called "change coalition" bloc in the wake of the ongoing escalation vis-a-vis Hamas.
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Abbas, who has in the past has been affiliated with the Islamic Movement and its radical ideology against the Jewish state, had been sounding a new tone in the wake of the March 23 election, saying he was willing to enter into official coalition talks with both sides of the political spectrum as long as his constituencies are served. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, as well as opposition parties, have both tried to secure his support and swear in a government, but he has kept his cards close to the chest so far.
In recent days it appeared that he was all but certain to rebuff the Likud and partner with the anti-Netanyahu bloc, but the ongoing clashes in Jerusalem and the massive rocket attack on Israel on Monday had Abbas cancel the meetings he was scheduled to have with Yesh Atid and Yamina, the two leading factions in the would-be "change coalition," until the situation calms.
Abbas had also met with Netanyahu several days ago. The latest escalation and Abbas' unclear stance on which bloc Ra'am would support, could throw a monkey wrench into the effort to topple Netanyahu and result in no government being formed on time, potentially resulting in another early election.
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