Netanyahu Survives Close Call In Knesset

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government survived a noconfidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday, although 11 members of his ruling coalition skipped the balloting to show their displeasure with his leadership.

The motion brought by opposition parties was rejected by a 55-50 vote, with two Knesset members abstaining and 13 refusing to appear to vote. The measure needed 61 votes for passage.

Leading members of Netanyahu’s coalition said before the vote that they no longer trusted him after a string of broken promises.

But they apparently were unwilling to force new elections and risk their positions by voting to bring down the prime minister - which also would have dissolved Parliament. Instead, they indicated their annoyance through less drastic means.

Seven coalition members did not appear in the chamber for the vote, and four - including former Cabinet ministers Dan Meridor and Benny Begin - refused to vote or abstain and were registered as absent.

The less than stirring show of support for Netanyahu by his coalition members gave his opponents reason to revel despite the outcome.

Opposition Labor Party leader Ehud Barak called it “the beginning of the collapse of the moral authority of Netanyahu.”