As the hopes of the opposition to form an alternative government in the current Knesset dwindle, the Chareidi parties are already discussing the day after the next election. Senior members of UTJ and Shas have stated that if Netanyahu fails to form a government, they are willing to join a government headed by Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, Channel 12 News reported on Sunday night. Chareidi sources said that if Netanyahu can’t gain a majority, they will suggest to Gantz to form a government with the right-wing parties, with Netanyahu serving as the alternative prime minister, with or without a rotation. According to the report, the Likud’s effort to form an alternative government in recent days came after heavy pressure from the Chareidi and Religious Zionist parties. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Religious Zionist party chairman Betzalel Smotrich held a tense meeting with Netanyahu, in which they forcefully expressed their unwillingness to be unnecessarily dragged into another election. According to a Maariv report, a senior Chareidi politician said in closed conversations: “We’ll do everything – absolutely everything – so that we don’t sit in the opposition again. Everything is everything – interpret it as you wish.” Kikar H’Shabbat reported that the Chareidi parties even considered sitting in a government under Yair Lapid but ultimately decided against it as they fear the negative reactions of their voters. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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