Israeli PM Bennett loses majority after ruling coalition whip quits over religious ground
Jerusalem, Apr 7: Israel's fragile government on Wednesday was reduced to a minority in the 120-member House with the ruling coalition's whip quitting on religious grounds, raising the possibility of elections in the Jewish nation in less than a year after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took charge.
Idit Silman of Prime Minister Bennett's Yamina party quit the government, surviving on a razor thin margin, over the question of Jewish values related to a dispute about Passover matzo rules.
"I can no longer serve in a coalition that is adversarial towards the values we all hold dear," Silman said in a letter to the prime minister, urging him also to join forces with the right wing.
The coalition now holds just 60 seats in the 120 member Knesset (Israeli parliament).
Bennett's shaky government remains in power following the defection but will face severe challenges legislating on key issues.
Silman opposed allowing people to bring leavened bread and other foodstuffs into public hospitals -- products prohibited according to religious tradition during the Passover holiday -- leading to a public spat with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz who had decided to allow entry of such products into hospitals during the Passover, a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
For some devout Jews, the mere presence of such foods in the hospital is not kosher, but the country's Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that hospitals could not bar people from doing so.
The coalition, seen by many as an assembly of strange bedfellows from eight political parties of all ideological hues, ranging from Islamists to hard-line nationalists and dovish liberals, was glued together in its opposition to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it wanted to oust from power.
Some members of Bennett's party have been uncomfortable with Yamina's union with Islamist and liberal parties since the government's formation in June last year which has kept his confidantes on their toes permanently.
One of the seven elected members of the party broke ranks at the inception and has maintained his opposition to the coalition.
Bennett rushed to summon Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, his longtime political partner, and others to ensure they too did not leave his coalition and join hands with the Opposition.
The Knesset is on a break and it remains unclear if the Opposition will now have enough support to hold a no-confidence vote and send Israelis to the spectacle of fifth elections in just over three years' time.
Local media reports talked of Silman striking a deal with Netanyahu over a secure spot in the Likud party list if fresh elections were called, and even the health ministry if the former premier was to form a new government.
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KCOCA invoked against two accused in land dispute murder case
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Police have invoked provisions of the stringent KCOCA against two people in connection with a series of violent crimes, including murder, arising out of a prolonged land dispute in this district, officials said on Monday.
According to police, section 3 of the KCOCA was invoked after an assessment revealed the accused persons' - gangster Kali Yogish and alleged land shark Yogish Acharya- alleged involvement in multiple serious offences over a sustained period.
Accused Yogish has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody by a special KCOCA court in Mysuru, while gangster Kali, who is absconding, is believed to be residing abroad.
The case dates back to December 2022, when Kaup police registered an assault case against the accused duo and their associates for allegedly attacking a person identified as Chandrashekhar and others following a dispute over land ownership.
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The conflict escalated in March 2023 with the murder of a person identified as Sharath Shetty. Police said Shetty was allegedly killed for refusing to support Yogish and for assisting Chandrashekar in the land dispute.
A murder case was registered at Kaup police station, with Chandrashekar cited as a key witness in both cases.
Police further stated that on October 20, 2025, Chandrashekar received a threat at around 8.15 pm, warning him against deposing in court. He was allegedly asked to resolve a financial dispute with Yogish Acharya and threatened with death if he failed to comply.
Based on his complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The investigation was supervised by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Karkala subdivision, Harsha Priyamvada.
Accused Yogish Acharya was initially arrested on October 24, 2025, and later released on bail. He was subsequently re-arrested after the invocation of KCOCA and remanded to judicial custody, police said.
