MK Ayoob Kara
Photo: Yaron Brener
Netanyahu faces dissent from within Likud
Day after narrow government formed, Druze MK warns prime minister: 'If I am not made minister – there will be surprises.'
After agreeing a coalition deal with Bayit Yehudi and announcing the formation of a government with a razor-thin majority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may face dissent from within his own ranks on Thursday.
In the afternoon, Likud MK Ayoob Kara told the Knesset Channel: "If I am not made a minister – there will be surprises."
Then-MK Rivlin with Kara (Photo: Yaron Brener)
The 60-year-old Druze politician, a four-term MK, was first elected in 1999 and served as deputy Knesset speaker. In the 2003 elections, he was reelected and served in the Finance Committee and the Education, Culture, and Sports Committee.
Kara refused to break away from the Likud in 2005, when Arik Sharon led a mass defection to Kadima ahead of the 2006 elections. When the Likud was subsequently reduced to 12 seats in the election, the Druze MK lost his seat for the 19th Knesset.
However, he returned to the legislative chamber in 2009, when he won election to the 20th Knesset – led by Netanyahu – and was appointed deputy minister.
In the Knesset Channel interview, Kara was adamant that he be considered for a role in the new government. "A government will not rise that ignores the thousands of Druze soldiers and officers deployed on the borders of Israel, who were hurt by the proposed 'Jewish nation-state bill' – we need to bring them back and keep them close, we need to them: 'You are part of this country.'"
MK Kara emphasized that Israel's Druze population was not only a resource for the IDF but part of the fabric of the state. "The Druze were not born solely to make war, they were also born to sit at the cabinet table. And I say this, a government will not be formed that does not have a Druze minister – to pass a clear message that we are an integral part of this country, we want this."
