Just four days after ministers from the Meretz party visited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Labor Secretary-General Eran Hermony led several members of his party on a delegation to Ramallah Thursday.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The delegation, which included central party figures from across the country, met with senior PA and Fatah party officials at the invitation of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Committee for Interaction With Israeli Society. The committee is headed by Mohammed al-Madani, who is also a member of the Fatah Central Committee.

Palestinian delegation members, among them Palestinian Social Affairs Minister Dr. Ahmed Majdalani and Abbas advisor Dr. Mahmoud al-Habbash, congratulated all Labor party members. They noted Labor had in the past worked with the Palestinian leadership toward a resolution to the conflict and that they continued to see the party and others as a partner for peace.

Hermoni said, "The objective of the delegation was to hold a dialogue between various office-holders on both sides, as well as to send a clear message in favor of peace and the two-state solution. The Labor party has a responsibility to fearlessly fly the diplomatic flag and emphatically make clear that it will not allow any action in the government that creates a one-state reality, which would be the destruction of the Zionist enterprise and the existence of a Jewish and democratic Israel. No one can ignore reality, and no speech will change that. We must remember that peace is an important value, and it must not become a four-letter word."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Palestinians host Labor party delegation in Ramallah appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Following a report in Israel Hayom on Friday morning, that Likud officials were pressuring Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich to agree to the establishment of a right-wing government that relies on outside support from the Islamist Ra'am party, Smotrich ruled out the possibility in a post to Twitter.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"If the Likud fails to form a nationalist government that will be because it is wasting precious days in which it has the mandate on dangerous and hopeless directions. I will not lend a hand to the suicide of the Right and the State of Israel in the establishment due to the short-term vision of a reckless government that would be dependent on the support of anti-Zionist terror supporters and makes all of us their hostages," he tweeted.

The only foreseeable way to establish a right-wing government is if the RZP head agrees to accept outside support from the Islamist Ra'am party, something he adamantly opposes. Nevertheless, Ra'am party members have relayed key ideas they would like to see promoted to Likud officials.

Likud officials insist Smotrich has no reason to oppose such cooperation with Ra'am as they believe the Islamist party's demands if implemented, would also serve that of the RZP.

It should be noted the Ra'am party did not include any request concerning the controversial nation-state law or the Kaminitz Law [believed by some to target illegal Arab construction] in the demands it relayed to Likud members in recent days.

Likud officials called Ra'am's demands "reasonable, logical, correct, good for the Arab sector, and good for the Israeli public."

"Despite his radical positions, these are not things Smotrich should oppose. All they're asking for is a budget, to be managed by them, for the good of the Arab sector, mainly to improve infrastructure, for education and the war on crime," one party official said.

Ra'am has also asked to legalize large Arab communities in the Negev and allow for the authorization of large-scale construction in Arab communities in the future.

According to the Likud official, "Everyone who lives in the State of Israel should support this. It would be good for them to take care of infrastructure, education, crime in the Arab sector. When big issues like the nation-state law and the Kaminitz Law aren't on the table, there's no reason for Smotrich to oppose relying on them from the outside."

They said, "There are a few communities in the Negev where there's no longer any choice; we need to legalize and regulate them - large communities where tens of thousands of people live - and we can't ignore them. We need to provide them with infrastructure and normal lives. The legalization of a few Arab communities won't kill Smotrich. Moreover, allowing them future construction in the territories where they live is in Smotrich's interest. Would he prefer Arab society build in [the Arab-majority cities of] Kfar Qasim and Umm al-Fahm, or due to space issues, expand into urban areas inside Israeli cities?"

The RZP leader raised hopes in the Likud that something in his position had changed in a conciliatory post in response to yet another shocking murder in the Arabs sector, this time of 39-year-old mother of three Suha Mansour inside her beauty salon in the Arab city of Tira.

In a post to social media, Tuesday, Smotrich wrote that "Arab society is in genuine distress. As a country and a society, we have a moral and civil responsibility to stand with and assist it."

Following the launch of a rocket from the Gaza Strip to Israel, Thursday, however, Smotrich took to Twitter to ask his followers: "Do you really want the State of Israel to be the hostage of the Islamic Movement and for its government to be dependent on it to respond to Hamas (Gaza's Islamic movement) fire from Gaza?!"

The post Smotrich: I will not lend a hand to Right's suicide appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

After the Likud secured a stunning 13-seat electoral margin over the second-largest party, Yesh Atid, an embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received the official mandate to form a new government. Yet similar to the previous three contests in the last two years, his ability to forge a parliamentary majority coalition remains in doubt.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

On Monday, representatives from each of the 13 parties that entered the Knesset met with President Reuven Rivlin to recommend their preferred candidate for prime minister. Netanyahu received 52 recommendations from his committed right-wing and religious partners. The current head of the opposition, Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, received 45 recommendations from each of the country's center-left and far-left parties.

Naftali Bennett received seven recommendations – all from his own right-wing Yamina Party. The right-wing New Hope party led by former Netanyahu ally Gideon Sa'ar, as well as two Arab parties, which have never joined any coalition government Right or Left, opted not to recommend any candidate.

Parallel tracks

Also on Monday, just as livestreamed consultations at the president's office were underway, Netanyahu was pictured sitting for a brief period in the back of a courtroom, ahead of the first day of testimony in one of three cases in which he is charged with bribery and breach of trust. (He was only required to attend the opening statement.)

The side-by-side events – rabid media coverage of Netanyahu's trial plus a fourth rapid-fire election with no clear path toward a 61-Knesset member majority – represent both a surreal and a low moment in Israeli political history.

Hourly news reports alternated the scorecard of the various recommendations by party representatives, followed by snippets of testimony from Ilan Yeshua, former CEO of the Walla! news site. Yeshua's testimony detailed how Netanyahu and his advisers repeatedly strong-armed the nature of Walla!'s news coverage about himself and his family members, as well as that of his political rivals. In return, Netanyahu advanced regulations that directly benefited Walla! owner Shaul Elovitch, another defendant in the case.

The testimony isn't pretty and the media is seizing the opportunity to broadcast the negative soundbites. Yet that doesn't necessarily make any of the actions illegal.

'Favorable publicity'

A legal memorandum authored by famed US attorney Nathan Lewin, signed by a team of lawyers including Alan Dershowitz, and submitted to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit ahead of his decision to indict Netanyahu, warned: "If the police and prosecutors are empowered to probe the mixed motives of journalists and politicians, they can exercise arbitrary control over essential institutions of democracy."

The Lewin memo extensively cites a 2012 report by the United Kingdom's Lord Justice Leveson, titled "Inquiry Into the Culture, Practices, and Ethics of the Press," which details numerous historical interactions between some of the world's most influential media moguls, including Rupert Murdoch, William Randolph Hearst, and Joseph Pulitzer; and political counterparts, including British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and others. The memo noted that "media empires … routinely exchange favorable coverage for beneficial acts," yet contended that "there has never been a single case in the democratic world in which a public figure was prosecuted, let alone convicted, of the 'crime' of receiving a requested 'bribe' of favorable publicity."

Were Netanyahu to be convicted, he would be the first such politician in any democratic country to be found guilty of practices that are standard in the relationships between state leaders and media owners since the advent of politics and a free press.

The details of Yeshua's testimony are furthering souring those voters who have had enough of Netanyahu, as well as political rivals who are intent on replacing Israel's longest-serving prime minister. Much of the country believe that Netanyahu has overstayed his welcome after 12 consecutive years on Balfour Street.

Still, Netanyahu's considerable number of supporters remains committed. Immediately following the first day of testimony, Netanyahu asserted in a televised address that the unprecedented charges represent an attempted coup by the prosecution and the media and that the means of the investigation were illegal.

"It's a witch hunt. They didn't investigate a crime, they didn't look for a crime; they hunted for a man, they hunted me," he said.

Israeli law explicitly states that a prime minister may continue to serve in his role while under trial and even following a guilty verdict until all appeals have been exhausted. Until then, it is only the voters that can remove a prime minister from office.

Throughout the successive election campaigns, sealed evidence was continuously leaked to the press while announcements from prosecutors were timed repeatedly to influence voters ahead of polls. The current witness testimony may ultimately factor into Netanyahu's ability to form a government.

Yet four times in a row, the voters have spoken. Among a divided electorate, the largest block by far has consecutively sent the message that Netanyahu remains the most fitting candidate to serve as prime minister. Right-wing parties ideologically aligned with Likud total 65 seats. While more than 61 Knesset members across the spectrum would like to see Netanyahu replaced, opponents have been repeatedly unable to form a government due to their own disparate ideological and political agendas.

Following consultations with party leaders, Rivlin stated his belief that no candidate would be likely to form a coalition, then reluctantly and unceremoniously passed the mandate to Netanyahu via a messenger.

'Kingmakers'

Now, the heads of the 11 small parties – each between six and nine seats apiece –  believe that they hold the mandate of "kingmaker," or at least that they will ultimately determine who will emerge as prime minister. Naftali Bennett in particular is angling to become prime minister as part of a rotation with Netanyahu or with opposition leader Lapid. Yet no one kingmaker, including Bennett, holds all the cards.

Netanyahu now has the task of convincing multiple kingmakers to crown him once again. Should he convince Bennett, a former ally who has not ruled out sitting under Netanyahu, to join a right-wing government, he will be just two seats short and will try to recruit defectors from other parties. Sa'ar, another former ally who broke off from Likud with several colleagues to form New Hope, could together with Bennett give Netanyahu 65 seats and a stable right-wing government.

Members of the Left are simultaneously trying to recruit Bennett and Sa'ar to form a "government of change." Lapid, whose left-wing Yesh Atid received 17 seats, is believed to have offered Bennett the first seat in a prime-ministerial rotation arrangement should he break ranks with the right. Meanwhile, Bennett has pledged not to sit in a government led by Lapid.

Simultaneously, some members of the opposition are hoping that they may be able to work together even without a formal coalition to advance legislation that would retroactively invalidate Netanyahu from forming a government.

Following the third election, Netanyahu fought off a similar parliamentary putsch attempt and ultimately cracked his opposition, forming a unity alignment with then-challenger Benny Gantz and half of his Blue and White Party.

Despite a Knesset, a justice system, and a majority of media that want his tenure to end, Netanyahu remains the strongest player in the field. His party is the largest by far – his block of supporters is larger than any other, and the mandate to form a government is officially his. Whether he will succeed is anyone's guess. Should he fail, a fifth election may be on the horizon.

Throughout it all, for the fourth time in two years, it's only the voters who want Netanyahu in the top job.

Alex Traiman is managing director and Jerusalem bureau chief of Jewish News Syndicate.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

The post Netanyahu's latest mandate is trial by fire appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met with Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri, United Torah Judaism Chairman Moshe Gafni, and former Health Minister MK Yakov Litzman (UTJ) in an attempt to cobble together a right-wing coalition despite lacking a 61-seat majority.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter 

On Thursday, the prime minister will meet with Religious Zionism party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich and Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett.

In his meeting with the Haredi factions, the sides presented ideas for establishing a coalition. Mouthpieces for the Haredi factions denied reports that party leaders told Netanyahu they would not run with him in a fifth election and that they could opt to align themselves with Bennett. According to the reports, they also told the premier they believe there will not be another election because if Netanyahu fails to form a government, Bennett will form a coalition with Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid.

Litzman told Haredi radio station Kol Barama on Wednesday that "there is no chance we will sit with Lapid or [Israel Beytenu Chairman Avigdor] Lieberman. Anyone who says otherwise is dreaming." Litzman added: "I spoke with Smotrich, I understood there are formulas for a solution," without offering any further details. 

Meanwhile, Yesh Atid MK Boaz Toporovsky told Army Radio on Wednesday that Lapid "is prepared to recommend Bennett [for the premiership] if he promises not to join [Netanyahu], but he was not willing [to make that promise]." 

Earlier in the day, Lapid took to Facebook to outline a possible government he could form with Bennett. The post, which he headlined "The Government We Will Try Establishing," opened by saying: "The first stage didn't work out in our favor. Netanyahu received the first [president's] mandate. Shame."

'The country is wounded'

Lapid continued: "The goal was and remains singular: Establish a national consensus government." He highlighted the center-left's message, often delivered by Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, whereby "Israel is a wounded country."

The Yesh Atid leader also slammed the media's focus on whether such a government would be left or right-wing, saying it "will be a government for those who want things to be good here." 

He added: "In this government that we are trying to establish there will be three overtly right-wing parties (Yamina, New Hope, and Israel Beytenu), two centrist parties (Yesh Atid and Blue and White) and two Zionist left-wing parties (Labor and Meretz).

"This means no one will get everything he wants, but there will be a balance that forces us to focus on practical goals. No one will neglect his ideology but at the moment we have more pressing problems. They will not be solved by headlines, but by ministers who come to work."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post PM to meet with Bennett, Smotrich in effort to cobble coalition appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

This is a developing story 

President Reuven Rivlin kicked off consultations with party leaders on Monday morning, on who they want to see tasked with forming Israel's next government.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

In an address ahead of the consultations, Rivlin said, "The main consideration that will guide me is to give the task of forming the government to the Knesset member with the highest chance of succeeding in forming a government that will be backed by the new Knesset.

"The consultation process will be transparent and open to the public," he said.

The Office of the President will broadcast the meetings live on social media.

According to Channel 12 News, the president plans to ask party chiefs for their second-best pick options and scenarios that they reject, to get a better understanding of the fault lines on the political scene.

Members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, which won 30 Knesset seats in the March 23 election, were the first to meet with the president, at 9:45, local time.

Likud member and Justice Minister Amir Ohana told Rivlin in their meeting, "We have here a decision by the voter. The Likud movement headed by Netanyahu received over a million votes from Israel's citizens. We believe and hope that with the highest number of recommendations, this will make Netanyahu the candidate for forming a government in a way that reflects the will of the people."

When Rivlin told the Likud officials in attendance, Ohana, Science Minister Ofir Akunis, and Settlement Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, he may not only take the number of Knesset seats garnered in the last election into consideration when deciding who to task with forming the last government, Akunis responded that "tasking a party with single-digit Knesset sets with the mandate is an undemocratic idea."

Asked whether Likud members would also recommend an alternative candidate to Netanyahu, Ohana replied: "As a state governed by the rule of law, we need to ask ourselves what the law says. The law, of course, is clear, and when we recommend Netanyahu, we act in accordance with the law. I came here from another place, the district courthouse, out of a firm belief, and I came to stand on the side of truth and justice. I think the over a million people who voted for Likud know the situation the president alluded to."

At 10:15, the president met with representatives of the Yesh Atid party, who recommended their leader Yair Lapid for the job, saying he was the only candidate capable of forming a government.

Senior Yesh Atid member Orna Barbivai told the president, "When we have a prime minister who is defending himself right now in court, we need a candidate who will work for the sake of the State of Israel, not himself, to take on this important task."

While Barbivai admitted Lapid may recommend another candidate for the role of prime minister, she said the Yesh Atid head should be tasked with forming the next government because he had the best chance of succeeding in the task.

In their meeting, Rivlin said, "I don't see a way to establish the government right now. The people of Israel should be very worried that we may be forced to be dragged into a fifth election campaign."

At 11:00, Rivlin met with members of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party, who said they would recommend "Netanyahu and only Netanyahu" form the next coalition and serve as prime minister.

Shas MK Yinon Azoulay told Rivlin, "Throughout the entire election campaign, we said clearly we would only support Netanyahu as prime minister, and that is what we are here to say today."

Asked by Rivlin whether Netanyahu would have the support necessary to form a coalition, Azoulay said, "We believe he is the only one who can bring about a 61-[Knesset seat] majority. How will it happen? We believe it will."

Blue and White officials recommended Lapid be tasked with forming the next government in their meeting with Rivlin, held at 11:45.

In their meeting, Sports Minister Hili Tropper said, "We have a deep commitment to a government of change." He said, "We cannot sit with Netanyahu [in a coalition government]. Stability will not come from a prime minister busy with his personal issues.

"We recommend Lapid, but we will certainly support any candidate from the change bloc that can bring the highest number of recommendations," he said.

Strategic Affairs Minister and Blue and White member Orit Farkash Hacohen called to "remove the public vortex we are in because of one person," to which Rivlin responded he could not engage in the heart's desires. "The value issue you speak of is a very weighty issue the people faced in the election."

Ahead of his meeting with the president, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz announced his party would recommend Rivlin task Lapid with forming the next coalition.

"We will continue to do everything so that an honest government is formed, and for the mandate not to go to Netanyahu who is entirely concerned with his trial," Gantz said.

Despite having garnered just seven seats in the election, representatives of Yamina recommended their party leader Naftali Bennett in talks with Rivlin held at 12:30.

He said, "You are recommending Naftali Bennett with the knowledge that this time around, he cannot have it [the mandate to form a government]. It may very well be I pass it [the ball] to the Knesset."

Yamina's Ayelet Shaked responded that the president should give lawmakers a second chance at selecting someone to form the government "and not go straight to the Knesset."

If no party leader can be found that is able to cobble together a coalition, a minimum of 61 lawmakers could submit a written request to the president asking him to provide another lawmaker 14 days to try and form a government.

At 13:15, officials from the Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism recommended Netanyahu be tasked with forming a coalition.

Labor party representatives were set to hold their meeting with the president at  14:00.

The meetings are held in order of the number of seats each party earned in the election.

Following an hourlong recess, Rivlin will confer with Yisrael Beytenu delegates at 16:00, followed by a meeting with the Religious Zionism Party at 16:45. He will then see representatives from the Joint Arab List at 17:30, after which he will meet with New Hope officials at 18:15. At 19:00, the president will meet with members of the Meretz party. In his final meeting, slated for 19:45, Rivlin will speak with Ra'am party head Mansour Abbas.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

Joint Arab List officials announced they would not recommend anyone with forming the government. In a statement, they criticized Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, saying, "He was sure he has us in his pocket, and he was wrong. We didn't get any assurance from him or his representatives or an action plan that concerns the needs of the Arab sector. In this situation, the decision was made to avoid a recommendation."

On Wednesday, Rivlin is expected to task one of the lawmakers with forming a government, giving the person 28 days to do so.

The mandate can be extended for another two weeks with the president's approval if its holder fails to build up a coalition within this period.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

The post Rivlin: Israelis should be 'very worried' about 5th elections appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Representatives of the United Torah Judaism party who were set to recommend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be tasked with forming the next government were also expected to demand President Reuven Rivlin convince New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar to join the Netanyahu-led bloc to establish a stable, right-wing government. While at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, members of the Haredi party were set to argue that both the Right and the Haredim had voted to appoint Rivlin president and that he must now act in the interests of those who put him there.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Among the United Torah Judaism members set to meet with Rivlin were party leader Moshe Gafni and party members Yaakov Litzman, Uri Maklev, and Meir Porush.

According to Maklev, "Just like the president acted for national unity, now he must act for a unified right-wing government."

He told Israel Hayom, "Rivlin is committed to those who voted for him to be president. He was not elected by votes from the Left."

The United Torah Judaism member's remarks came in response to a statement earlier Sunday, in which Sa'ar emphasized his party would not join or support a Netanyahu-led government.

Sa'ar said, "We will act with all of our power to establish a government of change in the State of Israel."

He said despite calls for his party to join a Netanyahu-led government to prevent a fifth round of elections, he had no intention of breaking his campaign promise.

"We will not change the things we presented to the public. Who led Israel to four election campaigns in two years - none of which saw him win a majority in the Knesset - and continues to cling" to power? "He [Netanyahu] is the one that needs to draw conclusions today, step aside, and allow Israel to move forward."

Last week, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett spoke with Shas party head Aryeh Deri to ascertain whether the Haredim would be willing to join the "anyone but Bibi" camp in a government led by himself together with Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, New Hope chief Gideon Sa'ar, and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz.

According to Bennett's scenario, should the Haredim be forced to decide between entering a government with him and without Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Lieberman and dragging Israel into a fifth round of elections, they would prefer to join the Yamina leader in a coalition. In discussions with Deri last week, Bennett learned this would not be the case, even at the risk of another election.

Deri told Israel Hayom: "We spoke last week, and I told Bennett there is no other option but to establish a right-wing government. I relayed to him in the clearest manner there is no way in the world we will head into a government without Likud. Even if we make it to the last minute, and even if it leads to a fifth election, our position is unequivocal. United Torah Judaism won't join such a government, and I also explained to him why. We will not enter a coalition that doesn't immediately legislate the draft law like we agreed on. We won't enter a government that doesn't legislate a minimal state conversion law, and we also demand an override clause [that allows the Knesset to determine a law is valid even if it has been ruled unconstitutional by the court]. Can that be achieved with Yair Lapid? Absolutely not."

According to Deri, "If Bennett would have said, 'I'm in the right-wing bloc,' we could have found a solution for Gideon Sa'ar. Any time that Sa'ar thinks he has another option, he's not willing to hear it.

"We are sticking with the Right," Deri said. "Naftali Bennett and Gideon Sa'ar must understand in the clearest possible way that there is no alternative outside of a right-wing government. There is no middle. The people have spoken. There are 65 Knesset seats that want a right-wing government, and now we need to overcome all of the internal problems. We need to rule out any other alternative."

Following his consultations with party members, President Reuven Rivlin is expected to decide who to task with forming the next government, although he is not required to make an immediate decision or announcement.

Israel Hayom has learned the president may task the lawmaker with the highest chances of forming a government as early as Tuesday night.

Representatives of the President's Residence said, "As soon as there is a decision, there's no reason to delay the process of forming a government. In his consultations with every faction, the president will try to understand what government they will and won't be willing to join. In the factions' response to the president as to the question of their recommendation, they will need to clarify which other parties they intend to join up with to allow the president to consolidate a clear image of the situation."

According to the various parties public declarations, 52 lawmakers from the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Religious Zionism Party were set to recommend Netanyahu be tasked with forming the next government, while 32 lawmakers from Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, Labor, and Meretz were set to recommend Yesh Atid head Lapid. Yamina, Blue and White, Ra'am, and the Joint Arab List have yet to say who they will recommend.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Haredim demand Rivlin convince Sa'ar to join right-wing government appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have called on Yamina head Naftali Bennett and New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar to come home, Wednesday, but he has other plans.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

His speech wasn't aimed at bringing, Sa'ar, the Likud party's wayward son, back into the fold of the nationalist camp, but rather at laying the ground for an entirely different kind of government that doesn't include Sa'ar at all. It remains unclear whether this will be accomplished through defectors joining Likud or the outside support of Ra'am.

Netanyahu may also just be trying to torpedo the center-left's attempts to form a coalition.

The political leader with the best chance of forming a coalition that replaces Netanyahu is not Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid but Bennett. Senior Likud officials spent all day, Wednesday, doing everything they could to prevent that from happening. Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Lieberman, a staunch opponent of Netanyahu, has assisted their efforts by informing Lapid he will flat-out refuse such a move. Lieberman has denied reports to this effect.

Although publicly, Lapid has said he would agree to Bennett forming the coalition, his party has said nothing of the kind to Bennett or any of his fellow Yamina members. It seems Lapid is so wrapped up in the belief that he should be tasked with forming the next government that he's simply incapable of considering any other scenario. After all, he already made the concession of his life to Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, not once, but three separate times. Having garnered twice the number of Yamina's Knesset seats, it's easy to see why he would find it difficult to cede the right to form the next coalition government this time around.

So, for now, Bennett waits. He isn't expected to say anything significant before Passover comes to an end, Saturday night. He's spent most of the holiday in the Judean Desert with his family. Now and again, he'll be in contact with a Lapid ally or a member of the Netanyahu camp, but he never states his intentions outright. It appears Bennett's top priority is to be tasked with forming the next coalition. If he can't have that, he'll likely look to join up with Netanyahu, in the hope of avoiding any further political escapades. The only problem with that tactic is that any alliance with Netanyahu will be an adventure, as the prime minister has yet to garner the support of 61 lawmakers he needs to form the next government.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Bennett is hoping Rivlin tasks him with forming government appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The political system is waiting with bated breath for Ra'am to announce who it will recommend to cobble together the next coalition government.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

According to a senior Ra'am official, party members have yet to decide whether party head Mansour Abbas will hold a press conference to issue a statement on the matter.

Outside of an interview with the Anadolu Agency, in which the Turkish news agency referred to the Ra'am party leader as the "first Arab kingmaker in Israel's history," the party has imposed an interview ban.

"Our options are open, and we are engaged in negotiations with the Right and the Left," Abbas told the agency, in the interview published Wednesday.

He reiterated his desire to work with a prime minister that meets the Arab sector's needs.

"We won't allow a return to the rejection of the Arab community to the margins of society. There is the issue of our people in the Negev, with 100,000 people who live without development and recognized lands," Abbas said.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Who will Ra'am endorse to head next government? appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

With Likud party efforts to cobble together a coalition so far coming up empty, party officials say they plan to do everything they can to convince New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar to join a coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"We cannot understand Gideon Sa'ar. We have here a rare opportunity to establish the kind of stable, national unity government we have always hoped for with the Likud, Sa'ar, [Yamina party head Naftali] Bennett, the Religious Zionism [Party], and the Haredim [Shas and United Torah Judaism]."

They said, "Gideon Sa'ar is right-wing, his whole gang is [comprised of] former Likud members, members of the nationalist right. He must stop this foolish boycott. We have a right-wing, nationalist ideology to promote. This could be a huge springboard for him for the day after Netanyahu. Instead, he will now be crushed by [Yesh Atid Yair] Lapid and Bennett and join up with the left-wing bloc and disappear from the [political] map in a year or two."

On Monday, Shas leader Aryeh Deri announced he would recommend the president task Netanyahu with forming Israel's next government.

"Shas will act to establish a right-wing government headed by Netanyahu that maintains the Jewish character of the state and acts for the benefit of the weaker sectors of society, and calls on all right-wing parties, Yamina and New Hope in particular, to rise above all other considerations and joint a fully right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu," he said.

Efforts were also underway to secure a 61-member majority coalition over on the anti-Netanyahu bloc.

Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid met with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, Sunday evening, to discuss the possibility of establishing a coalition government that sees Benjamin Netanyahu removed from the premiership.

Earlier Sunday, Lapid hosted Ra'am party head Mansour Abbas at his Tel Aviv home. The talks on establishing a coalition government were mediated by local authority heads from northern Israel's Triangle (Wadi Ara) region.

Asked whether Ra'am, which earned four Knesset seats in the most recent election, had entered talks with the various blocs in an interview with the Arabic-language Nas Radio, Abbas said direct talks that began ahead of the election were now ongoing.

In the Sunday morning interview, Abbas noted Ra'am was not in direct talks with the Joint Arab List, from which the party split last year.

Also on Sunday, Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Lieberman announced he would recommend Lapid be tasked with forming a government.

On Facebook, Lieberman wrote: "As we committed to doing, we will recommend the chairman of the party from the "change" bloc that received the greatest number of Knesset seats" for the role of prime minister.

"Anyone who tries to thwart this process and puts their ego above national interests will bear responsibility for [Israel heading to] fifth elections. An exit from the political imbroglio requires all parties find creative, out-of-the-box solutions."

Lieberman further said that "with the signing-into office of the 24^th Knesset, Israel Beytenu will submit a bill to limit a prime minister's term in office to two terms, a proposal Netanyahu supported in the past.

"Another law we will submit will require the resignation of the prime minister following the filing of an indictment, as was passed in a preliminary hearing in the 21^st Knesset in May 2007 with the support of the Likud, including Benjamin Netanyahu, the Haredi parties, the Labor party …. And Meretz."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Striving to secure coalition, Likud offers New Hope chief 'any senior position he likes' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Senior Ra'am party officials confirmed to Israel Hayom, Thursday, that they had entered into talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with  Shas and United Torah Judaism's mediation.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Ra'am party officials said that they would not join efforts to oust Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin from the position at this time. Such effort would be aimed at making it more difficult to pass legislation preventing anyone facing an indictment from running for the premiership. Such personal legislation would of course be aimed at preventing Netanyahu from running for office once more.

Senior Joint Arab List officials have denied reports in recent days that Ahmad Tibi's Ta'al party could also follow in Ra'am's footsteps and split from the Joint Arab List. According to the reports, Tibi, who is known to have a good relationship with Abbas, and his fellow party member Osama Saadi would join Ra'am as an independent faction.

Ra'am also denied the reports, saying, "This scenario has no chance of happening in the near future, although we do not rule out any future alliance with those who accept our basic principles."

The Joint Arab List, meanwhile, has imposed an interview ban on its members as it weighs an offer from Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid to join forces to prevent Netanyahu from forming a government.

"It's unclear what [Sami] Abu Shehadeh, Balad's representative in the [Joint Arab] List, will do. Right now, Hadash has a majority with three MKs, Ta'al has two, and Balad has one," a Joint Arab List official said.

Over at Ra'am, the situation is much simpler.

Nazareth Mayor Ali Salam, who has close ties with Abbas and other senior party officials, told Israel Hayom: "If I know Abbas and the Ra'am heads, their choice will be to go with Bibi [Netanyahu] and the Right that is at the head of the stronger and more united bloc."

Nevertheless, Salam emphasized that "Ra'am will support whoever offers the Arab sector more. We want to and must take part in the political arena for our society."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Ra'am officials confirm they are in talks with Likud appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.