Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies open to joining forces with opposition

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TEL AVIV — Officials from two ultra-Orthodox parties allied with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Wednesday that they were open to cooperating with the opposition as exit polls left both blocs short of a parliamentary majority.

An unnamed official from the Shas party suggested that it could join a government led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot at a later stage, provided that it accepted the terms of a military conscription law, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

The official said Eisenkot should initially leave vacant the ministerial posts important to Shas, adding that the party might join later if a “reasonable” conscription law were introduced.

Separately, Yitzhak Goldknopf of the United Torah Judaism alliance declined to rule out cooperation with Eisenkot’s bloc.

Asked about that possibility, Goldknopf told Kol Barama radio that the matter would be put to senior religious authorities and that their decision would determine the party’s position, the Israeli news website Ynet reported.

Democrats party leader Yair Golan backed drawing on Arab parties’ support to secure a majority to replace Netanyahu.

“Every Knesset member elected through a democratic and lawful process is a legitimate part of our political system,” Golan said, according to Israel’s Haaretz daily.

He said that if a democratic majority existed to replace the government, the opposition should act on it.

Avigdor Liberman, the Yisrael Beiteinu party leader, called for a “rebellion” within Likud against Netanyahu, accusing him of having “destroyed the national camp,” according to Israeli Channel 12.

“One thing became clear today: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted like the leader of a criminal organization, no less. He crossed all the red lines,” Liberman said after the end of voting in Tuesday’s hard-fought parliamentary elections.

“I got dozens of calls from my friends in Likud. This man must leave the political scene,” Liberman said.

“Raise the flag of rebellion within Likud and say out loud what you are already thinking. Netanyahu has destroyed the national camp,” he added.

Liberman’s call for a rebellion within Likud carries added significance given his firm opposition to forming a minority government relying on a “safety net” provided by Arab lawmakers, an option opposition parties could consider if they fail to secure a majority of 61 seats.

The remarks came as a revised Channel 12 exit poll projected 52 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 49 for Eisenkot’s and 19 for Arab parties.

Updated exit polls from Israel’s public broadcaster and Channel 13 put the two main blocs level at 51 seats each, with 18 for Arab parties.

None of those projections gave either bloc the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Meanwhile, Mansour Abbas, the leader of the United Arab List (Ra’am), said early Wednesday that he hoped his party and Israel’s opposition bloc could together secure the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority to replace Netanyahu’s government.

“I hope we can change this government and that the numbers add up to 61 seats, the opposition bloc together with Ra’am,” Abbas told Channel 12.

Abbas said the high turnout among Arab voters reflected despair and frustration that had turned into hope.

Asked about opposition party leaders Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman’s refusal to cooperate with his party, he said the matter would be addressed after the election.

Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said the projections showed that it had achieved its goal of building a strong list capable of bringing change.

Channel 12 put turnout among Arab voters at 80%, while the overall turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999.