MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) dismissed claims that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would look to form a unity government with the Labor party.
In a post on Facebook before Shabbat, Hotovely said that Netanyahu will keep his promises from before the elections to form a coalition with the Likud’s “natural partners”.
“A government that is good for the people of Israel will be established within the next month,” she wrote. “[Naftali] Bennett will be a senior minister, [Moshe] Kahlon will be finance minister.”
Hotovely added that the new government’s policy will be “political right with social sensitivity and addressing the cost of living.” She further said that the next justice minister will be from the Likud and will “promote nationalist legislation.”
“Whatever happens along the way is just spins, I would recommend that everyone not believe each headline that is published and wait patiently for the government that the people of Israel chose a week and a half ago, a right-wing government of the nationalist camp,” said Hotovely.
Hotovely’s post comes amid tensions in coalition talks between the Likud and the Jewish Home.
Sources indicated to Arutz Sheva on Thursday that negotiations between Jewish Home and Likud are stuck at an impasse, and that Jewish Home is “furious” that Netanyahu has not offered three key positions – Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, or Education Minister – to the party, despite the fact that Jewish Home garnered just 8 seats in the 20th Knesset elections.
On Wednesday, a source told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu is planning to form a unity government with the Labor party and leave the Jewish Home in the opposition.
And, on Friday, Jewish Home MK-elect Yinon Magal said that Netanyahu prefers to form a government with Labor-Hatnua, despite multiple promises both before and after elections.
“I think that there has been a spin here from the first day of [coalition] negotiations,” Magal told Army Radio. ”The Prime Minister did call Naftali Bennett first [after the elections – ed.], but since negotiations have begun, [progress] has been slow. The Prime Minister met with Bennett twice and didn’t offer him anything.”
Magal also rejected reports that the Education Ministry was offered to Jewish Home.
“[Netanyahu] didn’t offer anything,” he said. “There is a spin Israel Hayom is putting out that we were apparently offered the Education portfolio, and that there is internal competition over it. This is nonsense; there was nothing, they didn’t offer us anything.”
Magal accused Netanyahu of making the coalition demands so high that Jewish Home will be forced to back down – paving the way for a unity government.
