The leader of the Zionist Religious Party Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday rejected the ability of a rectangular government backed by the Islamist party Ra’am, which has emerged as an unlikely king after the fourth election in two years.
Ra’am was largely separated from the Arab Commonwealth alliance before the elections for the 24th Knesset began, after leader Mansour Abbas developed close ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau and said he would not refusing to join his coalition.
“A right-wing government will not have the support of Raouram Mansour Abbas. Time. Not from the inside. Not from the outside, not through avoidance, and not through any other scheme, “wrote Smotrich on his Facebook page.
He then went on to sing voices on the right side calling for co-operation with Ra’am, calling them “reckless.”
Most right-wing lawyers have been willing to consider the Arab party as a potential coalition partner because it does not recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
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Chairman Ra’am Mansour Abbas speaks to supporters after the census leaves
(Photo: Elad Gershgorn)
Smotrich also called on Hopefuls right-wing leader Yamina Naftali Bennett and New Hope leader Gideon Saar to “put aside their personal differences” and form a right-wing government under Likud.
Both Bennett and Saar have positioned themselves as a potential replacement for Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and de-facto leader on Israel’s right. This situation no longer seems to be the case as their parties have only managed to collect a one-digit number of sets in the upcoming Knesset according to the latest results.
Bennett for his part remains skeptical about the ability to sit in government under Netanyahu, refusing to reject a coalition without the prime minister.