Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) dispersed rumors of a joint list with Likud on Friday, maintaining that the two parties will not be uniting for the 20th Knesset. 

“I do not see such a union, we are very different parties,” Bennett claimed to Israel Radio. “Jewish Home is actually the only party opposed to a Palestinian state, the only party that opposed the release of terrorists, which all the other parties actually voted for.” 

“We are different in each Jewish issue [as well], as well as our traditions and connection to Jewish identity, which are close to my heart,” he added. “There is no need to unite but certainly after the election there will be one big nationalist bloc.”

Recently, polls indicated that a joint list between Likud and Jewish Home would gain a sweeping victory for the right-wing bloc at either 37 or 40 seats – potentially guaranteeing a right-wing government. 

However, the practical possibilities of such a union are slim, according to a recent Channel 10 report, as legal investigations into the possibility of a union revealed major hurdles for a Jewish Home-Likud union for this round of elections. 

In all likelihood, Bennett added, the elections will depend primarily on not who becomes the leader of the coalition, but who is posted to crucial ministerial positions. 

“In these elections, it’s between Tzipi [Livni] and Bennett,” Bennett stated. “After all, there will be a right-wing government in any event. But what we don’t want is what we saw when Likud was elected [for the 18th Knesset] and brought in Ehud Barak [as Defense Minister], and when it was elected and then it brought in Tzipi Livni to lead the negotiations [with the Palestinian Authority].”