"My fellow friends on the Right," Bennett wrote on Facebook. "One thing must be clear: If law-enforcement officials take down Netanyahu just because of cigars and positive press online, this will be a deadly blow to our entire ideological bloc. Any leader on the Right that would follow Netanyahu would be too scared of confronting the media and law enforcement."

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Bennett was referring to the possibility that Netanyahu would have to leave his post or hand over his official duties because of the corruption allegations he faced, which center on various gifts and benefits he allegedly received while prime minister.

Talks with Blue and White over a power-sharing deal that would allow a new government to be sworn in have stalled because the left-wing party has insisted that Netanyahu step down until he could be acquitted in court.

Bennett added that "Netanyahu may not be perfect, but he has been a very good prime minister for Israel and its security and has been persecuted and demonized from day one by the leftists in the media and academia."

According to Bennett, "because Netanyahu is now at his most difficult moment, I have decided to help as much as I can."

The Sept. 17 election ended with a hung parliament, with neither Likud or Blue and White getting enough seats to form a government with its ideological allies.

The only realistic option is to form a unity government under some kind of power-sharing arrangement, but so far negotiations have stalled because Blue and White has been unwilling to have Netanyahu serve as prime minister for the next two years, citing his potential indictment in the three corruption cases.

Netanyahu was tapped by President Reuven Rivlin to form a government and he has until Wednesday to do so. But Netanyahu is unlikely to be able to swear in a government and win a confidence vote on time, meaning that Rivlin will likely tap Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz to do so.

If Gantz fails, and no MK garners the signatures of 61 lawmakers within 21 days, Israel would have to hold another election.

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After all the talk about a political bang, Barak and Labor MK Stav Shafir joining up with Meretz is reminiscent of the buzz that came before the founded of the New Movement – which led to Nitzan Horowitz joining the left-wing party in the first place. A lot of noise in the media, but nearly no effect at the polls.

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Now, once again, the old Meretz guard are being forced to pay the price and stand back to allow new members to jam themselves into the top places on the list, and a few months later watch them enjoying the MKs' cafeteria while they eat at home. To Barak's credit, this time he didn't abandon his friends - he took care to ensure they would have nice jobs and tickets into the parliament before he went back to international businesses and playing the piano.

The left-wing bloc that resulted from the move has the advantage of pulling Meretz away from the brink of not passing the minimum electoral threshold. If the Right manages to close deals for two joint tickets to the Right of the Likud (New Right/United Right and Zehut/Otzma Yehudit), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be forced to run a campaign with one hand tied behind his back to ensure that none of the right-wing parties takes a fall like they did in April. Meanwhile, at Blue and White, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid can take votes away from the left-wing parties without fear.

So this week's election merger, even if it's not a "big bang" – or even a "little bang" – is unfortunate news for Netanyahu that will probably force him to take action to ensure that a similar bloc forms on the Right. That's exactly what didn't happen last time, when the joint right-wing ticket forced Gantz and Lapid into each other's arms to establish Blue and White as the main alternative to a Netanyahu government.

The Democratic Union ticket comes as good news for new Labor chairman Amir Peretz, though. Not only does it isolate him and his party from the strongly-identified leftist party – which will allow him to carry out his plan of trying to take votes from the Right – it also helps him put his own house in order now that Shafir, the main upstart who didn't give him a moment's peace since losing the race for party chair - left. A few hundred Labor members who think like her will probably follow her out of the party, leaving Peretz to run things without let or hinder.

Since the 21^st Knesset dissolved itself and voted on a do-over election, not a single poll has predicted that the Right will secure the necessary 61-seat majority to keep Netanyahu in power. This past week, all the parties were busy with possible joint runs and preparations ahead of next week's deadline to submit party lists. But no merger or split, on either the Left or the Right, will change the current voting map, which at the moment does not give the Right a majority.

This has nothing to do with New Right leader Ayelet Shaked or Naftali Bennett or Barak and Peretz. This won't change because of a mega-ticket on the Right or a mega-split on the Left. It has to do with one person only – Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman. Given the polls, he decides whether Netanyahu stays or goes. The eight to 10 seats he'll get (depending on the poll) will tip the scales of the 2019 Knesset Election 2.0, and the Likud has been wracking its brain about how to change the situation and take as many seats as possible away from Lieberman.

Last week, the Likud launched its Russian-language campaign, which will be large and extremely well-funded. Figures the Russian-speaking public knows and admires, like Zeev Elkin and former Yisrael Beytenu MK Robert Ilatov, will be part of it. Having concluded that Lieberman's traditional voters care less about who is prime minister and more about issues of religion and state, the Likud has decided to take on Lieberman. Most of them have no problem with Lieberman saying he'll support the biggest party. When he promises that he'll work toward a government without the haredim, that's what counts.

Which is why the Likud decided to approach this target demographic from a different angle. They want to cast Lieberman as someone who perpetuates the problems faced by new immigrants, not someone who solves them. While the Likud's main Hebrew-language campaign will ignore him almost entirely, the Russian-language campaign spots will hammer the message that while the Russian sector proved that it can integrate into Israeli life in almost every aspect of life, it still chooses to support a sectorial party, which hurts its image and social standing.

The Likud will also be arguing that Lieberman knows that if he solves the problems faced by Russian olim, especially when it comes to pensions, his party will no longer have a reason to exist, which is why he torpedoes any proposal that seeks to address the issue. Only in the latest round of negotiations, which fizzled, did the Likud agree to grant every immigrant a pension in the amount of 70% of the minimum wage at a total cost of some 2.5 billion shekels ($709 million). Lieberman is the one who refused the offer.

The Likud campaign will suggest that the Russian immigrants become party of the ruling party and take part in leading it. Top officials in the Likud's Russian campaign will attack Lieberman on the immense gap between what he says and what he does, and promise that the Likud will take care of pensions and public housing. At some point, Netanyahu will make a commitment that the immigration and absorption portfolio will stay with the Likud as a way of ensuring that immigrant issues will remain under its purview rather than being entrusted to others.

Likud officials know that Lieberman will try to drag the Likud and the haredi parties into highly-publicized spats, which is why they plan to ignore him – at least in Hebrew. Whether or not they'll manage to do so is another question.

For the past few weeks, New Right leader Ayelet Shaked was waging a bitter battle with party co-founder Naftali Bennett about the party's future. The debate wasn't about the top spot on the party list, but rather the question of which sector it would be courting in the election. Bennett was convinced that there was a large slice of the Right that was disappointed with Netanyahu that had great potential for the New Right to tap. In the last election, there were a few different options: the New Right, Moshe Kahlon, or Feiglin. This time, the New Right is the only viable option. If the party didn't run on its alone, Bennett thought, the right-wingers who were over Netanyahu might default to supporting Blue and White or Lieberman, thereby causing the Right to shrink.

Shaked wasn't convinced. She sees herself leading a large, inclusive party that has a little of everything: secularist with the national-haredim, liberals and conservatives, men and women. As long as the debate raged on, the two couldn't arrive at a way of cooperating. Last Thursday, Bennett told Shaked he thought the party should take her path.

Shaked's gambit, if it succeeds, will bring in not only the New Right, Habayit Hayehudi, and the National Union, but also Otzma Yehudit and Feiglin's Zehut party. There is room for all of them under her leadership, and she intends to negotiate with all of them for places on the list.

The main person throwing obstacles in her way is Habayit Hayehudi leader Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who would probably be forced to forgo the No. 1 spot on the list and is an outspoken opponent of Shaked's approach. Netanyahu, who sources said was working behind the scenes to scupper Shaked being given the top slot in the New Right, will have to re-think his position in light of the latest developments on the Left.

But Shaked is ready for a scenario in which the negotiations fail and the New Right runs on its own. In that case, she say, she has a few interesting, even surprising,  candidates for the list. For now, she's refusing to name names.

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According to the agreement reached between the parties, Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz will hold the No. 1 slot on the list, followed by Shafir. Barak will be placed 10th at his own insistence, according to a statement released by the faction Thursday. He will, however, be guaranteed the first pick of ministerial posts if the party enters the government.

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Former GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, who recently joined Barak's party, was allotted the third slot on the list, with former Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg placed fourth. The top 10 places also reserve two other slots for candidates from Barak's party.

Shafir decided to leave Labor after she failed to convince new Labor chairman Amir Peretz to run on a joint ticket with Meretz and Barak.

The leaders of the new list issued a joint statement saying, "The initiators of the union believe that the establishment of the 'Democratic Union' is the first, vital step in the mission to bring Israel back onto the right path."

Zandberg called the decision "a dramatic move to strengthen the Left" and said it would strengthen "the positions of justice and equality as an alternative to a messianic, corrupt Right."

Barak tweeted a message to Peretz: "Amir, you were given bad advice from a bad advisor to join [Prime Minister] Netanyahu's chorus of liars … there is still time to fix this."

Meanwhile, the New Right and the United Right are still dealing with major rifts that could prevent them from joining forces in the upcoming election.

According to sources involved in negotiations on a possible joint ticket, the right-wing parties are divided over "basic issue" about who would head the list – former Justice Minister and New Right leader Ayelet Shaked or Education Minister Rafi Peretz – as well as how MKs would be placed.

Both parties claimed Wednesday that they wanted to run on a joint ticket, but each blamed the other for the failure to reach a deal. Sources in the United Right said, "Once again, the New Right is trusting polls and 'likes.'"

Shaked's party said in response that half the spots on the list would go to candidate from each party. "The technical bloc will be headed by the candidate who can bring in the largest number of seats, and that is Shaked," the New Right said.

Farther to the Right, Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin have reportedly reached basic understandings that could lead to them running on a single ticket in September.

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Shaked will take the next few days to consider her next political move, Israel Hayom has learned. It should be noted that despite previous reports that certain Likud officials sought to recruit Shaked to the party's ranks ahead of the upcoming snap election on September 17, that option has effectively been removed from the table.

A short while ahead of the New Right meeting, Bennett told reporters outside his home that despite the party's failure in the last election, he intends to run again with the party in the upcoming election.

"It's not good that Israel has to repeat elections but it's an opportunity to come back smarter, more serious and more modest," Bennett said. "That goes for me, too. The New Right will be a unifying party."

He added: "The New Right will bring tidings to the nationalist right-wing camp, which unifies all segments of the nation. Religious, secular, traditional – everyone together," he continued. "It will be a party that doesn't give up and doesn't compromise on its positions but doesn't only look to fight with the Left. We will strive for the party to galvanize many good Israelis."

Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said that "Bennett and Shaked cannot continue to serve in sensitive cabinet positions for another half a year, because they were not elected by the public [in the last election]."

In a joint statement, Bennett and Shaked said they would cooperate with their replacements to ensure a smooth transition.

"From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the people of Israel for the rare privilege to serve them as ministers of education and justice," they said.

"Everything we have done was for the good of the State of Israel and its citizens. We will hand over the offices we chaired in an organized fashion, to the ministers who will replace us, to ensure a smooth transition and so that the next school year will open in due order."

According to some reports, Netanyahu plans to fill the vacated cabinet seats with members of his own Likud party, rather than with members of Habayit Heyhudi, which is the party that Bennett and Shaked entered the Knesset with and passed the electoral threshold.

United Right party leaders Rafi Peretz and Bezalel Smotrich have demanded the vacant portfolios.

On Monday, Smotrich also denied that he was involved in Netanyahu's decision to dismiss Bennett and Shaked.

"I was not involved in the dismissal of Bennett and Shaked. This is a decision by the prime minister," he said in an interview to Reshet Bet.

On Sunday, Smotrich told Army Radio that Shaked would not be given the top slot on any joint list.

"You left, you destroyed, you failed, and now because of your mistake, the country is going through [another election] because of you," Smotrich said. "You can join us but there is no reason in the world for you to be number one."

Smotrich later said, "I invite Bennett and anyone who wants to serve the public in the Knesset and in the government to unite into one big right-wing party."

Rabbi Haim Drukman, a leader in the religious-Zionist camp and one of the more influential rabbis in Habayit Haeyhudi, told Israel Hayom that the party's doors were still open to both Bennett and Shaked.

"I'm in favor of all right-wing parties uniting," Drukman said. "But we need to sit down and decide on the details."

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No exact reason was cited for the decision, although there has been speculation of an upcoming reshuffle in his transition government as he gears up for the September 17 election.

Bennett and Shaked issued a statement following the announcement saying that "we thank the Israeli public from the bottom of our heart on the great privilege of serving it in those ministries. Everything we did was for the State of Israel and for its people."

Both outgoing ministers said they would oversee an orderly handover of the ministries to their successors to ensure that work would continue with minimal disruption and the 2019-2020 school year would open as scheduled.

A source close to Bennett and Shaked said Sunday that Netanyahu's decision to fire the two indicated poor judgment and cast doubt on his capability to continue serving as prime minister.

Blue and White co-leader Yair Lapid responded to the move on Twitter: "Netanyahu fired Bennett and Shaked because 1) He is afraid they'll do poor work? 2) He's afraid they'll do good work? 3) Nothing matters to him anymore. 4) All of the above."

Last week the Knesset dissolved barely a month after it was inaugurated after Netanyahu failed to muster enough votes to win a confidence vote and swear in a government. This was due to Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman refusing to join Netanyahu's coalition over a bill regulating the draft of haredim.

Bennett and Shaked ran as the leaders of the New Right party but failed to win enough votes to cross the electoral threshold.

Because the Knesset dissolved, Netanyahu no longer needs a governing coalition because no-confidence votes cannot be held until the election. This means he can appoint and fire ministers almost without consulting anyone.

Netanyahu is currently trying to curry favor with the Russian-speaking electorate. There is speculation that he could make certain moves in the coming months to make his candidacy more appealing to voters from the former Soviet Union, in light of the rift with Lieberman, who relies on the Russian vote .

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Bennett and Feiglin reportedly sat down this week for a meeting that was characterized as "long and good," with the goal to establish a "technical bloc" that would be viable in the September election. The two parties would run on a joint list, and if the list passes the minimum threshold, will revert to their current status once the election is over.

Officials in the New Right are saying that last month, Bennett held a series of meetings with prominent figures in both in the political world and outside it. He used the meetings to help draw conclusions about his poor performance in April. Sources close to Bennett said that he will stick to the following principles: a united Right that is capable of governing; Israeli Jewishness that brings people closer together; a positive approach with minimal attacks and polarization; focus on the real issues; voter outreach; a modest, low-cost campaign; and deals with other parties to ensure a place in the next Knesset.

One of the people Bennett reportedly met with was New Right co-founder Ayelet Shaked, but it still appears that Shaked is looking to join the Likud rather than stay with Bennett.

"Bennett has realized a lot of things. Mainly, the need for a significant change to his public message – to take things in a cleaner, more unifying direction," his associates said.

Meanwhile, Feiglin's Zehut party is also reviewing the causes of its failure on April 9. One of the main lessons for party members was Feiglin's declaration that Zehut would not automatically join a coalition under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Feiglin said at the time, "We aren't in anyone's pocket. Not Netanyahu's, or [Blue and White leader Benny] Gantz's. We will join whoever gives us the most."

In the new campaign, Zehut will announce that it will join a right-wing government only. On Thursday, Feiglin said, "To a large extent, our avoiding saying 'We are right-wing' was our downfall. We are going to pave the way to allow our large sector of potential voters to cast their ballots for us, without concern that we'll establish a left-wing government."

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When they launched their party, everything looked different. Three months ago, the dynamic duo of Israeli politics announced that they were leaving Habayit Hayehudit to establish a new party, and polls soon confirmed that the step had been worthwhile.

But potential voters soon grew bored with their new toy. Other players occupied the surprise slot in the campaign – namely far-right activist Moshe Feiglin, who pushed to legalize cannabis, drawing voters away from the New Right.

Bennett and Shaked put together an all-stars party list. But then the party they had abandoned to its fate got a second wind. The new leader of Habayit Hayehudi, Rabbi Rafi Peretz, and head of National Union joined forces and started to fight back, calling their joint Knesset list the Union of Right-Wing Parties.

Bennett and Shaked made mistakes with their campaign. Bennett took a harsher tone against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on security and defense issues, and it looked as if he was trying too hard. And Shaked put out a parody of an ad for a fragrance called "Fascism," but no one thought it was funny.

Despite these missteps, the bottom didn't fall out of the New Right's voter base. The hard-core voters to the right of the Likud, both religious and secular, which believes that a conservative, right-wing worldview shouldn't remain merely philosophy but should be implemented at a ministerial level, stayed with them.

Polls show that the party, which at one point was hovering barely over the minimum electoral threshold of 3.25% (four Knesset seats) has regained some of its strength. Netanyahu's failed policy on Hamas – there is no other way of characterizing it – apparently restored some the votes the New Right had lost.

Until the polling places open on April 9, the New Right will have to keep taking aim at everyone else: Feiglin, the Union of Right-Wing Parties, Netanyahu, and even Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to cross the finish line successfully.

The real value of the 2019 election's start-up will be determined only after all the votes are in and counted.

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