After ultra-Orthodox allies of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu by four undecided elections, they said they would not follow him to another round, Israeli television reported on Wednesday.
Since he was tasked with forming a government on Tuesday after the March 23 election, Netanyahu has met with leaders of the Shas and United Torah Judaism. Both parties endorsed Netanyahu, who received more recommendations to form a coalition than his opponents, but he did not have a clear path to gaining a ruling majority.
Despite Shas and UTJ’s public support, television reports said they had told Netanyahu that they would not go with him to the fifth election.
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The Haredi parties noted that Naftali Bennett, head of Yamina, had the possible options to form a government, and predicted that he would not leave the opportunity to be prime minister, according to the public broadcaster Kan.
A separate report on Channel 12 News says the ultra-Orthodox parties have asked Netanyahu to do everything possible to prevent the formation of a government that will turn down Bennett and Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid, as prime minister. . Lapid and the Haredi parties have long been in a battle over the support of the head of Yesh Atid to institute core curriculum studies in ultra-Orthodox schools and to end the compulsory military service exemptions for seminary students.
It was not specified whether the warnings were made by both Shas and UTJ, which consists of the Agudath Israel and Degal HaTorah factions.
Yesh Lapid, chairman of Yesh Atid, gestures as he speaks at a conference in Jerusalem on March 7, 2021. (AP Photo / Sebastian Scheiner)
In addition to Shas and UTJ, Netanyahu also enjoys the support of the far-right party of Religious Zionism. Including Likud, its right-wing religious bloc has 52 seats, less than a 120-seat majority in the Knesset.
Netanyahu will meet with Bennett on Thursday, who said he was open to talks with Likud and requested a right-wing government but is not committed to supporting the Likud leader. Even with Yamina’s support, Netanyahu’s bloc would be two seats short of a majority, with limited options to form a government.
In discussions with President Reuven Rivlin on which legislators should first get involved in forming a government, Yamina recommends Bennett, the only party to do so. Lapid received 45 endorsements, while the parties New Hope, Joint List and Ra’am did not recommend any candidate.
While Lapid received significantly more endorsements than Bennett and his party have 17 seats for Yamina’s seven, he revealed on Tuesday that he had offered Bennett to first serve as prime minister in a rotating government. In apparent reaction to Lapid, Bennett said he would not head a left-wing coalition or abandon his principles.
New Hope, which is campaigning for the replacement of Netanyahu as prime minister, has also expressed support for a power-sharing agreement between Bennett and Lapid.
Naftali Bennett (L) and Gideon Sa’ar (R) attend on May 17, 2015. Jerusalem Day celebrations at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Flash90)
According to Channel 12’s news, New Hope decided not to endorse Lapid, after Yamina warned him that Bennett’s party would support Netanyahu, giving 59 recommendations to the Likud chief.
Without the support of New Hope and the predominantly Arab joint list, which Lapid reportedly endorsed if New Hope did, the head of Yesh Atid Netanyahu followed in overall recommendations and positioned the prime minister to get the mandate to a to form government.
The network said Yamina itself is divided over which government to support and that the solution is to give Netanyahu a chance to form a government before he can possibly liaise with Lapid if he fails.
On Tuesday, Channel 13 News reported that Bennett had told associates that he would form a government with Lapid if Netanyahu did not form a ruling majority.
If Netanyahu fails to form a government, the president can order a second person (for another 28 days and a possible additional 14), or return the mandate to the Knesset and the legislature. 21 days to vote on a candidate supported by 61 MKs.
If the president appoints a second person and the person does not form a coalition, the mandate automatically returns to the Knesset for a period of 21 days. During that time, any MK may be eligible to form a government.
Rivlin has indicated that he may not give the mandate to a second candidate if Netanyahu fails, but will immediately send it back to the Knesset.
At the end of the 21-day period, if 61 MKs do not vote on any candidate, the new Knesset will automatically go out and leave the country after another election, the fifth in less than three years.
Neither the pro- nor anti-Netanyahu bloc currently has a clear path to a coalition majority.
