Avi Maoz, head of the far-right religious party Noam, attends a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, Dec 28, 2022. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

JERUSALEM - An ultra-conservative Jewish politician on Monday said he was resigning from his role in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government after failing to advance his agenda, but that he would still support the coalition in parliament.

Avi Maoz's inclusion shook Israel's once-dominant secular liberals, who have been holding weekly mass-demonstrations against reforms sought by Netanyahu to curb the power of the Supreme Court

Avi Maoz, whose Noam party had one of the Knesset's 120 seats, was made a deputy minister in Netanyahu's office as part of the coalition sworn in on Dec 29, with responsibilities for encouraging stringent observance of Jewish law in the country.

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His inclusion shook Israel's once-dominant secular liberals, who have been holding weekly mass-demonstrations against reforms sought by Netanyahu to curb the power of the Supreme Court.

"To my amazement, I discovered that there is no serious intent to implement the coalition agreement regarding the administration of national Jewish identity," Maoz said in a resignation letter circulated to Israeli media.

"I will fulfill my duty as a regular Knesset member in the coalition," he added.

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Netanyahu commands a 64-seat parliamentary majority. But cracks have appeared in the support of his powerful far-right partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Both chafed at Netanyahu envoys' undertaking, at a Jordania-hosted security meeting with Palestinians on Sunday, to hold off on any new announcements regarding Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank in the coming months.