Negotiations between Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich are headed towards a dead-end over the latter's political demands, Israel Hayom has learned. 

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Yamina was formed ahead of the April 2019 elections as a faction comprising the New Right, Habayit Hayehudi and National Union parties. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not invite Bennett to join the coalition following the September 2020 elections, Yamina headed for the opposition, at which point Habayit Hayehudi broke with it, joining the coalition.

Recent polls, however, predict that Habayit Hayehudi would be unable to pass the prerequisite four-Knesset-seat electoral threshold. On Sunday, party leader Rafi Peretz announced he was considering exiting politics. If he does, Habayit Hayehudi will most likely be rendered defunct.

According to sources privy to the talks, Smotrich demands that Bennett pledge that he will not invite Habayit Hayehudi to again join the national-religious faction, as he seeks to be the sole political representative of the religious-Zionist electorate. 

Smotrich also demanded that Bennet pledge that, in the event that he is elected prime minister, he will not invite the Joint Arab List to join his government.

Bennett's associates said that the two also locked horns over the first 10 names on the party's slate, with Smotrich demanding four slots for the National Union, while Bennett is only willing to grant him two.

Smotrich has denied making these demands, saying reports on the issue were "not true."

Talks between Bennet and Habayit Hayehudi resumed on Monday. 

"We are negotiating with Yamina about running together [in the elections] and forming a united national-religious front," Habayit Hayehudi said. "The dialogue with Bennett is promising, and we hope to come to a decision soon."

Also on Monday, two more public figures announced their intention to mount parliamentary bids ahead of the March 23 elections.

Former Mossad intelligence agency Director Maj. Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom said he plans to form a political party together with Professors Asa Kasher, Shlomo Maoz, and Rachel Adato.

Kasher, a professor at Tel Aviv University, is the author of the IDF Code of Ethics. Adato is a former lawmaker, who was an MK for Kadima and Hatnuah between 2009 and 2013. Maoz is a leading Israeli economist.

Former MK Rabbi Haim Amsalem said he plans to revive his Am Shalem party ahead of the upcoming vote.

Amsalem was first elected to parliament in 2009, as part of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas, but later split from it, citing ideological differences.

Am Shalem calls itself a "Jewish social movement." In its "Jewish" dimension, the party advocates what it terms "moderate Judaism," calling for the integration of Torah study with earning a living, equality in sharing the burden of military service, and reform of the structure and authority of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

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Smotrich beat Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel for the leadership of the party in a vote of 83:40. Because of time constraints going into the campaign for the April 9 general election, the new leadership was elected by a limited forum of 128 members of the National Union central committee rather than in party-wide primaries.

Smotrich expressed his appreciation for his party's vote of confidence.

"Thank you for your faith in me. I'm not happy, only fearful and awed at the heavy responsibility you have entrusted me with," he said.

"I am reaching out to my teacher, Uri Ariel. I am calling on you to continue to contribute from your great experience, for the sake of the party," he added.

In the 2015 election, National Union and Habayit Hayehudi ran as a joint party under the leadership of Naftali Bennett, who in a surprise move left Habayit Heyehudi in late December to establish a new party of his own with his former Habayit Hayehudi colleague, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.

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The religious-Zionist National Union faction, which ran with Habayit Hayehudi under the latter's name in the 2015 Knesset election, was scheduled to hold a snap primary on Monday evening.

Because of time constraints, primary voting will not be open to all party members. Instead, 128 members of the National Union central committee will elect the next party leader as well as lock in the party's Knesset list, with results expected to be announced soon after the vote.

Former Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel will be facing off for the leadership of the National Union faction, which will again be running with Habayit Hayehudi in the general election on April 9.

The coalition agreements of the 2015 election allocated the National Union faction two top 10 spots on the joint party list. The faction is now seeking five.

Each party running for the Knesset compiles a list of 120 potential Knesset members. The number of representatives from each party who actually wind up serving in the Knesset is based on the percentage of the vote the party gets in a Knesset election.

The minimum electoral threshold required to enter the Knesset is 3.25% of the vote, meaning that the fewest MKs a given party can have in the Knesset is four. The rules for determining Knesset lists vary from party to party, but most of the major parties allow leaders to reserve spots for specific representatives or representatives of specific sectors (women, minorities, immigrants.)

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