Will Israel's new government get off the ground?
An amalgam of eight leaders trading insults and denigrating each other - whilst their parties have adopted policies that are totally irreconcilable on critical issues  is not the foundation for any stable Government  especially in Israel  whose enemies will become increasingly emboldened following the announcement of a cobbled-together Israeli Government comprising very different bedfellows. A vote of confidence first needed from 61 members of the Knesset before this dysfunctional Government even begins operating is certainly not a foregone conclusion. Either an Islamic-Arab party  Raam (4 seats)  or an extreme left wing party  Meretz (6 seats) which includes two Israeli Arabs  possess the ability to drag Israelis to a fifth election in 3 years. This Government could implode in making decisions involving such issues as:  Hauling Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC)  Authorising future building in Judea and Samaria (aka 'West Bank')  Extending Israeli sovereignty into Judea and Samaria  Preventing the renewal of violent protests by Israels Arab population that saw synagogues burnt and attacks on Jews and their property during last months Israel- Gaza conflict  Fractured relations and policy differences abound:  Meretz leader - Nitzan Horowitz - has adopted the position that the ICC has grounds for investigating Israel for suspected war crimes. Gideon Saar  leader of the New Hope party - said that he would not include Meretz in any coalition he led for holding that viewpoint. Horowitz cant join the government with positions like that, the MK who is only consistent in his personal hatred of Netanyahu..  Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked, equally consistent  echoed Saars sentiments: Anyone who talks like that will not be with us in a coalition,  Saar and Shaked  and it seems, the 10 other members of New Hope and Yamina parties  are ready to sit with Horowitz in coalition as the ICC probe continues and Israels Government has to formulate its responses. Prime Minister-elect Bennett repeatedly called Raam leader Mansour Abbas a terror supporter before the elections  but now opines: Mansour Abbas isnt a terror supporter. I met an honest man and a brave leader who is reaching out and seeking to help Israeli citizens.  An amazing epiphany indeed for an Arab leader whose party is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and whose 4 seats could bring down this Government at any time. During the election campaign  Bennett signed a pledge on TV (pictured below)  making the following commitments:  I wont allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement. ) and I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.  Bennetts credibility has been shot to pieces. Bennett has long held the following views:  The central problem is the failure of the Israeli leadership to simply state that the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. We have to say this to ourselves, on Channel 2 and on CNN that Israel belongs to the Jews  We have to tell ourselves and the whole world that his land has belonged to us for 3,000 years. The most certain path to defeat is for Israel to forget its sense of justice. This is true historically and legally. Bennett has argued since 2012 in his detailed Israel Stability Initiative that Israel needs to extend its sovereignty into Area C of Judea and Samaria and that Gaza should be separated from Judea and Samaria. Advancing Bennetts plan could see the Governments downfall. Israelis deserve a Government united in policy and possessing the firm resolve to combat their sworn enemies. This rancour-ridden Government - infected by deep political differences and built on hatred of Israel's illustrious, though not perfect, current Prime Minister - is not the answer. Authors note: The cartoon  commissioned exclusively for this article  is by Yaakov Kirschen aka Dry Bones- one of Israels foremost political and social commentators  whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.