Coalition members are trying to figure out what Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi plans to do now that she has resigned from the coalition.
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Rinawie Zoabi has a few options: She can follow in former Yamina MK Amichai Chikli's footsteps and announce that not only is she resigning from the coalition but will act in opposition to it. Remaining in the Knesset, she will vote against her party hundreds of times and issue public criticism of it. Such a move though could see Rinawie Zoabi designated a defector, as Chikli was, and ousted from her party as well as prevented from running with any of the current parties in the Knesset in the next elections. In such a situation, Zoabi could potentially vote in favor of the Knesset's dissolution next Wednesday.
Rinawie Zoabi, however, could also resign as Knesset lawmaker and retire from political life. This would be the preferred path for her to take among Meretz party and coalition members. Should she take this route, she will be replaced by a new Meretz member who will act in accordance with coalition interests.
The Meretz MK appears most likely, however, to adopt Yamina MK Idit Silman's framework and resign from the coalition but not the Knesset and refrain from acting against the coalition government. While Silman has criticized her fellow party members' actions and path, she has been careful not to vote against party and coalition lines, thereby avoiding being designated a party defector. Nor has Silman shown any signs she intends to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset thus far.
Finally, Rinawie Zoabi could withdraw her resignation.
The Likud party took advantage of her announcement to bolster the sense the government was on its last legs, but Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu admitted in closed talks he could not say for certain that Rinawie Zoabi would act to break up the coalition.
Rinawie Zoabi was promised the role of Israel's consul in Shanghai in an effort to keep some distance between her and the Knesset after she voted abstained from a coalition vote on the draft law. Her appointment, however, has not gone smoothly, leading politicians to believe Rinawie Zoabi's resignation is aimed merely at ensuring she is indeed given the role. Should the Meretz lawmaker enter the role officially, then, the assessment is that she will likely withdraw her resignation.
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