Following the selection of the prime minister's son, Yesh Atid and opposition parties backed away from the agreement between the parties, and the vote on Yair Netanyahu's appointment was postponed by two weeks.

"A corrupt cross-party political deal to appoint Yair Netanyahu as head of the advocacy and diaspora division in the WZO is a value collapse, corruption and nepotism," wrote Yashar! party leader and former IDF Chief Gadi Eisenkot. "A person who didn't return to Israel in its difficult hour, didn't serve in reserves throughout the period and spreads conspiracy theories against the State of Israel. Another characteristic of the government of negligence and evasion. Herzl is rolling in his grave."

Democrats chairman Yair Golan also addressed the storm and wrote, "We were shocked to discover Likud's intention to appoint Yair Netanyahu to a senior position in Zionist institutions. This is a corrupt and disgraceful appointment and another step in the destruction of Israel's national institutions. Yair Netanyahu, a person who dedicated his life to incitement and division, is not worthy of representing the Jewish people or enjoying status and public funds. We will not cooperate with the despicable appointment and will do everything to block the mafia-like takeover by the Netanyahu family."

Yesh Atid claims they were surprised by the attempt to appoint the prime minister's son and withdrew from the agreement. Yair Lapid wrote on social media, "Won't happen. Period."

 Zohar wrote a response to the firestorm on social media and tried to justify the demand to appoint Netanyahu's son. "For years, all left-wing representatives have worked to appoint family members and associates to positions in national institutions, and suddenly when it comes to Likud and Netanyahu, it becomes a storm," Zohar wrote. "This is yet another part of the personal persecution campaign by the left and the media against the prime minister and his family. Here's another repulsive display of malicious hypocrisy unlike any other against Yair Netanyahu, who simply wanted to do Zionist advocacy in the diaspora for the Jewish people."

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Negotiations over the judicial reform reached a new obstacle this week due to an internal rift within the Opposition, Israel Hayom has learned. 

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According to officials, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid and Benny Gantz's State Party disagreed over their demands. 

Yesh Atid said any compromise was off the table until an Opposition representative was appointed to the judicial selection committee and demanded that Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the main driving force behind the legislation, convene the committee no later than June. 

Benny Gantz's State Party, however, did not insist on the latter demand and even argued that it was impossible to compel the justice minister to do so. The negotiating team of President Isaac Herzog, who is leading the talks, is said to also have been taken aback by Yesh Atid's demand and stressed that it was indeed not possible to interfere in the work of the justice minister in such a manner. 

Nevertheless, Yesh Atid officials insisted on the matter and even threatened to withdraw from the talks lest both demands are met, saying they feared Levin might not convene the judicial committee in the near future at all, hindering its work. 

The State Party, in turn, has maintained the strategy of dragging out the time to push the Coalition to reach the legal deadline by which they would be obligated to appoint Knesset representatives to the committee – based on the current format – making it difficult to make any changes to the mechanism. 

Party officials said they were satisfied with the achievement of getting an Opposition representative appointed to the committee and did not wish to engage in requirements that were "irrelevant." 

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Yesh Atid will hold its first-ever primaries for leadership in January 2022, the party announced on Saturday. Chairman Yair Lapid, who is also the defense minister, has led the party since its inception in 2012.

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While any candidate can nominate him or herself until Dec. 21, no lawmaker has so far expressed interest in challenging Lapid, who is set to become prime minister in October 2021 as part of a rotation agreement with current premier Naftali Bennett.

The announcement comes after years of criticism against Lapid, who has branded himself as "the protector democracy," but has refused to hold Yesh Atid leadership elections for years.

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Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin (Likud) called on Yamina and Yesh Atid on Friday to reveal their coalition agreements and accompanying arrangements to the Knesset and public, which they have yet to do after informing President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday night that a coalition had been reached.

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"A situation in which coalition agreements are withheld from Knesset members and the public is unacceptable," Levin said. "The understandings must be submitted to the Knesset Secretariat immediately upon their signing to allow for public debate and to inform the members of the Knesset about the kind of government they are required to vote on."

According to Levin, the failure to reveal the documents raises concerns that the information is being withheld deliberately.

Yesh Atid and Yamina said in a statement: "The coalition agreements and the basic structure of the government will, of course, be made available to the public in a transparent and clear way after they are signed. We call on Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin to inform the Knesset as soon as possible that Knesset members [Yair] Lapid and [Naftali] Bennett have formed a government and convene a plenum immediately to swear in this government. The State of Israel needs a functioning unity government that will rescue us from the chaos."

Earlier Friday, Yamina members gathered at Bennett's home in Ra'anana in central Israel to discuss the new coalition and the steps needed to finalize the so-called "pro-change government." The meeting was also attended by wavering Knesset member Nir Orbach and political activist Shirley Pinto.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Yamina leader's home, calling on him to withdraw from what they called the left-wing coalition.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called an emergency meeting of right-wing leaders to discuss ways in which the bloc can prevent the government formed by the Center-Left bloc from being sworn in.

According to Channel 12 News, Yesh Atid has also presented a motion to immediately replace Levin with MK Mickey Levy, as it was believed Levin would use his power to delay the vote in an effort to further delay Netanyahu's ouster.

On Thursday morning, Netanyahu summoned Levin, Coalition whip MK Miki Zohar, Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, Shas leader Aryeh Deri, United Torah Judaism leaders Moshe Gafni and Yakov Litzman, and the heads of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of Jewish localities in Judea and Samaria,to the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem to discuss their options.

Netanyahu said on Twitter that "all legislators elected by votes from the Right must oppose this dangerous left-wing government."

Yamina lawmakers, meanwhile, have come "under tremendous pressure" to back out of the new coalition.

"It's everywhere. Social media, phone calls, protests outside homes – to the point of crossing some red lines. Some MKs feel their children are being threatened. The prime minister is definitely stirring the pot but not just him. They [political rivals] are spearing no effort to undermine us," said Yamina MK Matan Kahana.

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Yamina members are split about what to do if the party winds up in a position to complete a coalition for Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who currently holds the mandate to form a government.

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While Yamina members close to party chairman Naftali Bennett are still saying that Bennett has not gone back on his decision during Operation Guardian of the Walls to drop the option of joining a unity government with other anti-Netanyahu factions, other party officials have been hinting in the past few days that the door to a Lapid government is still open.

Bennett's staff say that since his announcement that he had stopped negotiations with Lapid, the two have not been in contact, nor have their staffers. Bennett's staff say he is determined not to form a government with left-wing parties, or with any Arb party.

Still, other senior members of Yamina are sending different signals. These officials say that while they would certainly prefer a right-wing government, if Lapid fails to form a government and loses the mandate next week, the result would be a fifth election. If that appears likely, they say, negotiations between Bennett and Lapid could still re-launch at the eleventh hour.

Meanwhile, Yamina No. 2 Ayelet Shaked continues to push for a right-wing government, and is reportedly pressing New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar and various other right-wing politicians to join a government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prevent another election. However, as of Wednesday morning, Shaked has not been successful.

The prevailing assessment is that if Bennett ultimately decides to join a unity government, Shaked will not split the party or abstain from voting.

On Monday, Yamina officials reported that they had received a message from the Likud that in the case that a right-wing government could not be formed and the Knesset would have to be dissolved yet again, Netanyahu would be willing to reserve eight places on the Likud list for Yamina members.

Likud officials said that Netanyahu would find it difficult to reserve more than four or five places on the list for Yamina members, as Likud members would resist having so many set aside for members of another list.

The Likud denied that Yamina had been offered any reserved places on the party list. Yamina did not respond to the report.

Meanwhile, in another political development, Lapid has reportedly completed negotiations with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman to join a unity government under his leadership.

According to officials involved in the talks, Lapid and Lieberman agreed that if Lapid forms a government, Lieberman would be appointed finance minister. In addition, an MK from Yisrael Beytenu would be appointed chair of the Knesset Finance Committee, which thus far has been controlled by the Haredi factions, and Yisrael Beytenu would be assigned two more ministerial portfolios, including the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry.

"In negotiations we agreed on the fundamentals of a government," representatives of the two party leaders said, adding that Lapid and Lieberman had also agreed on a need to pass a law to launch national projects as a growth engine, to include two new hospitals to be built in the Negev and the Galilee, an airport at Nevatim, and a light rail.

Negotiations also settled on a guaranteed minimum old-age pension that would stand at 70% of the minimum wage.

Representatives of the two leaders also said that agreements had been reached about "religion and state," but did not provide details.

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The Likud published a statement Wednesday harshly criticizing Yamina Leader Naftali Bennett for "refusing to support the only solution to the political deadlock that does not involve destroying the Right."

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As suspicions grow that Bennett might side with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Likud accused the Yamina leader of "galloping to a left-wing government" as a result of his "uncontrollable ambition" to become prime minister. "With seven seats, he is ready to crown a left-wing government with a coalition of 50 left-wing Knesset members," the statement said.

According to Likud, Bennett is acting against the will of voters who gave the right-wing government 65 mandates, and in stark contrast to his campaign promise not to form a government with the Left.

"Bennett's paralyzed left-wing government will fall apart within a few months and lead to the dissolution of the Knesset and a fifth-round of elections. It will not be able to withstand even one day of international pressure against settlements and Israel Defense Forces soldiers and the race for dangerous agreements with Iran. It will not even be able to advance a single right-wing measure.

"Bennett refuses to support the only solution to the political deadlock that does not involve destroying the Right: a quick vote to elect a prime minister that does not involve the dissolution of the Knesset and another round of elections. The chosen prime minister will be able to form a government immediately. Most of the public supports this solution," the statement said.

It appears that Bennett opposes a direct election for a prime minister. In talks with his associates, he reportedly said that electing a prime minister without having a Knesset that supports him will not solve the crisis but will only give power to whomever is elected.

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Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid's wife, Lihi, needs little introduction. She is a renowned photographer, a lecturer, a special-needs advocate, and the author of several bestselling novels and children's books. Her latest novel, Strangers, was published in February. 

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In an interview with Israel Hayom, Lapid shared stories of her life, spoke about her latest novel and her experience being a mother to a special-needs daughter and the wife of a prominent politician, now eyeing the Prime Minister's Office.

Q: Are you active in Yesh Atid?  

"I go out to rallies in intersections and on bridges because it's very important for me, and it's certainly crucial for me that we win so that there will finally be a change in my country which I love so much.

"I think that the circumstances do allow for a change, and time has come for renewal and rejuvenation. Israel and Israelis are in need of calm and composed leadership, without any dramas, because we are sick of it."

Q: Do you ever get tired of it all? 

"Of course not. We're on a mission. These elections are about our truth, and the Israeli public is very smart – it knows how to recognize the truth. Yair is ready. Yesh Atid gave him so much experience. I think people understand that now. They know they can lean on him, that he will not be making any sudden U-turns.

"There were days when I said to myself, 'enough is enough.' I told myself I wouldn't reads newspapers, [go on political] WhatsApp groups, polls; that I was done with all that. But morning came, and I realized I couldn't disconnect. It was stronger than me."

Q: How do you feel when polls or articles depict your husband in a bad light? 

"Terrible lies have been published about him over the years, or just tongue lashing that I had a hard time reading. One time I woke up at 5 a.m., looked at my phone, and read something that woke me up completely. 

"It was difficult for me to look at Yair sleeping, knowing that he was about to wake up and read those things. But Yair doesn't get angry, and when something challenging happens, he says, 'It's difficult now, but we will get through this, and we'll see how to change the current reality.'

"Yair views life differently. For him, if one doesn't like the current situation, he should work on changing it. When most of our rivals buckle under the pressure, he's a rock, firmly grounded and weathring the storms of private and public life."

Q: What about offensive comments you come across online?

"I get very upstet about fake news and slanderous comments. I used to have a Twitter account, which I later deleted. I couldn't stand seeing all that malice. I'm a member of dozens of WhatsApp groups where I'm super political, but Facebook and Instagram I use more for lectures, books, writing, and life.

"In those rare instances that someone does send me a really disgusting message about Yair, I reply, 'We are allowed to disagree, we are allowed to argue about politics, but you are crossing a boundary.' The vast majority apologizes." 

Q: Do you affect Yair's decisions?

"I'm very involved in the party, but I don't interfere with his decisions, not at all. Yair is surrounded by professionals that know what they're doing, and Yair is good at his job. I believe in him. I support the party on the ground."

"I'm interested to hear from Yair about the things he's not sure about, his reasons for certain decisions, and it's important for me to know what his opinion is. We never talk about what is the right thing to do, rather what our opinions are on the matter. We also hardly ever mention specific people."

A year after the birth of their daughter Yaeli, Lapid parted with her camera and focused on the written word. She has pebbed several bestselling novels and her latest, Strangers, was published in February.

Q: Do you write throughout the day as well? 

"In the last two years, there have been more election campaigns which made it impossible for me to focus and write in the morning or throughout the day. I'm not like Yair, who is so efficient with his work processes and time management. 

"What I do is declutter the computer, Instagram, Facebook, and all the emails, which could take hours, and before I know it, the morning has gone by. In the evening, I'm usually busy with lectures, so 5 am is all I have left."

Q: You used to write a weekly column for Yedioth Ahronoth.

"Yes. I told myself that if I no longer had a weekly deadline, which used to drain all the creativity out of me, I would write a book to fill the vacuum created by my dismissal from the newspaper a year and a half ago. It's not just that I love to write. I discovered that I absolutely had to write, that writing is a part of who I'm."

Q: Your dismissal from Yedioth Ahronoth was very sudden. Have you healed? 

"Not exactly. I had my own column for 15 years, and I miss it very much. I also miss my readers, whom I used to meet at my lectures. "Every Friday we wait for your column," they used to tell me.

"The column was my way to connect with the world. It was my voice. It helped me understand myself, understand life, family, my country."

Q: Could you ever have imagined that you would write a column for 15 years?

"I remember when I was first assigned the column, [well-known Israeli author] Yehonatan Geffen told me 'Lihi, they are paying you so that on printing day there will be quality information to publish. Very few people can do that long-term.' So I proved I could do it. But all that was cut short because I'm the wife of a politician. Such a shame.

On the other hand, "I'm definitely freer now. I'm no longer employed [to write,] and I can be more objective. I have the freedom to say what I want whenever I want. I wrote my book out of this sense of freedom."

Q: Some attribute your literary success to who your husband is.

"I have heard such claims. No one reads a book because Yair Lapid's wife wrote it. Whoever reads my work and comes to my lectures is someone who connected to my words. Perhaps it impacted them in a certain way or made them contemplate. Whoever doesn't connect, and for whom I'm 'Yair Lapid's wife,' that's fine with me."

Q: What does Yair think of your latest book? 

"When the first three chapters of the book were ready, I emailed them to him and asked him not to comment, just tell me 'yes' or 'no.' He replied, 'Wow.' When I finished the book, it was important to me that Yair's mother, Shula, [renowned novelist Shulamit Lapid] also read it. When she did, she told me the book had been written with so much love and soulfulness."

Q: Shulamit Lapid's participation in Yair's campaign video that went viral was quite a surprise. 

"True. With Yair's father [late Shinui founder Yosef "Tommy" Lapid] she was supportive more from the sidelines, but with Yair, she, like the rest of us, got drawn into Yesh Atid. She is active in WhatsApp, and always offers wise advice. She is the wisest woman I have ever met.

"When I was writing [my first book] Woman of Valor, I was scared to bring my personal life into the book, and there I was writing that I had an autistic daughter. I asked Shula if I should share the whole truth. She then gave me a wonderful piece of advice: to write the entire truth, and if needed, remove some parts of it later. That is exactly what I did, and removed much fewer parts than I thought I would. 

"When I was writing Strangers, I revisited this advice, but what happens to protagonist Nina is not something that needed or could have been cut or softened."

Q: Your latest book is not your personal story. 

"No, but I must admit it's one of the most personal books I have ever written, in terms of characters and personalities. The parents who worry about making ends meet and the ability to pay the bills at the end of the month, that is exactly how I grew up, and that is who I'm today, a working woman who worries about household finances. Matters that are important to me are woven in throughout the entire book."

Q: Which matter is the most important to you? 

"Family. What our responsibility is as parents within a family, and a complex issue that is not being spoken of at all – what our children's responsibility is to us. Of course, as parents, we take care of our children and give them as much as possible, but I wonder how much we communicate to them that one day they will have to be there for us when we are old. We don't really stop and tell our children, 'You have responsibilities to us too.'

"Years from now, I hope my son Lior will come to visit me at the hospital when I'm there. Unfortunately, my daughter Yaeli won't. But what will happen if my son moves to another country, as the son of the heroine of my book did? 

"Stranger is a delicate discussion, about a family being scattered all over the world, about grandparents. My children are my children, but they are the grandchildren of my mother and Shula. 

"When I struggled to give time to Lior because of Yaeli's countless treatments, my parents were there for him. He often slept by them. He always says, 'At home, I might be a prince, but at my grandparents' I'm a king."

Q: From where did you draw the inspiration to write a novel about an 18-year-old at-risk girl? 

"As part of my public activities, I often visit organizations that do this kind of work, like Elem, which works with at-risk youth. When I visited one of their centers dedicated to young women who have been sexually abused, I spoke with one of the counselors, and I asked her how was it possible for a young girl to find herself in such a situation, in an abusive relationship, and where were the parents. Her questions helped form [two of the characters from the book,] the mother and the daughter who live in the suburbs. 

"I grew up in Arad [in Israel's south], a remote and somewhat disconnected desert town, which was wonderful in terms of community, but it also closes you off from certain experiences.

"When I was 12, we moved to Ramat Hasharon [in central Israel.] The move to the big city was a shock to me, but it was the most formative experience of my adolescence as well. I had to get used to noise, crowds, people dressed in fashionable clothes, a way of speaking I was not used to."

Q: You dedicated your latest book to your sister.

"Yes, because I cannot imagine this journey called life without Ilil. She is eight years younger than me, but she superseded me a long time ago and has become my 'older sister.' 

"We are complete opposites. She is incredibly organized with attention to details, and I'm messier, and I pay less attention to details. She is reserved, a lawyer, and I tend to get emotional. She is my true friend who knows everything about me."

Q: Does your son Lior help you out? 

"Very much so. He is already 25 years old, and he is studying criminology and sociology at Ariel University. His whole life, he has dreamt of becoming a policeman. Like all students, he is studying via Zoom now, and he helps me with book-related errands, helps me a lot with Yaeli. He is a wonderful brother. 

"When he was six years old, he told me he wanted a younger brother very much. I explained to him that I was very busy with Yaeli's treatments, and he was already spending a lot of time with grandpa and grandma.

"He looked at me and said, 'Mom, Yoav [Yair Lapid's son from a previous marriage] and I are not enough siblings for Yaeli.' He was only six years old, and he already understood what kind of responsibility rested on him."

Four years ago, Lapid was appointed president of the Shekel organization that works to include people with disabilities in the general community. Last year she received the prestigious Tzamid Festival Award for her work in the field. 

"Anyone who has the ability to bring about change, who can make their voice heard, is obligated to use this power to act on behalf of those who cannot," she said at the award ceremony. 

Q: Only recently you started sharing your daughter's story in your lectures. 

"I couldn't do it before. To stand on a stage for an hour and speak about Yaeli, about us, about this painful wound, and share such personal stories, it's not the same as writing about it in a book." 

Q: And why did you change your mind? 

"In August 2018, Israel's Association of Community Centers published a survey which said that 90% of parents were unwilling to have their children participate in activities together with children with special needs. I was shocked by the results. 

"I asked myself how could it be that for years we were talking of accepting those who are different than us, and how much I fought for Yaeli to be included, so she will not feel as an outsider, and in the end, parents don't want to send their children to activities with children with disabilities."

Q: Have we failed, then? 

"No. We simply have a long way to go. I'm optimistic because if we were to ask the same question from our children, they would give a completely different answer. They are more tolerant, and unlike our generation, they are growing up with children with disabilities in their classrooms, in their year, or in youth movements. They will grow up to be different parents than those who answered the questionnaire. 

"Two weeks after the survey was published, I was invited to speak at a large conference for child development workers, and I decided that was it. I no longer had the privilege to come and say, 'This is not something I speak about.' That is how my lecture was born, the one where I speak about what it's like to be a mother to a special needs daughter. But it's still not easy for me. 

"After I give a lecture online, I go downstairs to the living room, and Yair is there, having just finished his never-ending zoom meetings, and when he asks me, 'how was it?' I cannot always answer immediately. It takes me some time to compose myself. 

"it's still not easy for me and Yair to speak about Yaeli. We never hid the fact that she is autistic. Since she was diagnosed, we've been active in The Israeli National Autism Association. 

"It took us a few years to admit that no matter what we did, what innovative treatment we participated in, what expert from abroad or Israel we tried, we will not save Yaeli from autism, and she will be autistic forever. Yair and I don't want people to feel sorry for us."

Q: Do you ever feel that people are sorry for you?

"I see people's faces change when I talk about it. We don't like it; I don't feel that it strengthens me that someone is sorry for me."

Q: What does strengthen you?

"When I give a lecture to 1,000 parents and professionals out of strength and joy of life, out of having made peace with Yaeli's autism, and with the knowledge that I stopped taking the past into consideration and am less afraid of the future.

"Yair and I have tea every evening, and we never miss it because this is our way to summarize how our day went. We don't speak on the phone throughout the day because those kinds of conversations are not deep and are very brief. 

"At the end of the day, we can talk about everything calmly. I remember one fortifying moment, in the years that I was sad and did not have any strength, we were sitting drinking tea with Yair, and he told me, 'Lihi, there is a family here that needs you, children that need you, and I need you. We are on a life-long journey, and you need to find your strength and return to life." 

"There was so much sadness, stress, and worries in those years, back when Yaeli was a child. When I look at pictures in our albums and see her happy and smiling, I ask myself how come I was not happy in those moments.

"Looking back, I understand that throughout the years of raising Yaeli, I missed out on small moments of happiness and joy, so now I try to be happy in every moment."n

"On Pesach eve, at the peak of the coronavirus drama, I lost my father, Rafi, who died of leukemia at the age of 75. He had been hospitalized for months, and he still listened to the news on the radio, and doctors used to join him in political debates. He also made sure to vote." 

"Only our family attended the funeral. My brother, who lives in Los Angeles, couldn't travel in. We sat shiva alone, no one could come and visit us. Some friends brought food to our doorstep, rang the bell, and had to leave."

Q: Do you miss your father? 

"Very much. Father was not a man of words, but a man of actions. No matter what problem we came across, whenever I needed a quick fix, father was the person I called. He was always there for me. When I was late for one of Yaeli's treatments, he would take her instead of me, or if I forgot something at home, he always brought it for me. I always knew father was the first person to call at a time of need."

Q: Not Yair? 

"Yair would go to the edge of the world for the children or me, but my father was so happy when we asked him for help. It made it easy to ask him. When he celebrated his 70th birthday, he wanted to bring more meaning into his life, and he realized that what he should be doing is 'the thing he knows best.' His answer was, 'I know how to be Yaeli's grandfather best.'

"Soon after, he began visiting an autistic child twice a week, who was living in a hostel and whose parents had died, so there was nobody to visit him. They used to go and eat falafel together, that is until father was hospitalized.

"I once asked him, in a particularly difficult moment with Yaeli, 'Why is it me that this is happening to? And why is it so challenging?' He hugged me tight and said, 'Do you think Yaeli would be doing as well as she is in any other place?' I replied, probably not.

"So this is your role in life, and your journey of a lifetime,'" he said. 

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The rivalry between the political parties ahead of the March 23 election makes the future of Israeli politics somewhat volatile but Shas leader Aryeh Deri, a seasoned politician of 30 years, seems to know what the day after the election has in store for Israel. 

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In an interview with Israel Hayom, he predicted that Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and New Hope chief Gideon Sa'ar will have no choice but re-join the right-wing bloc. 

"There are no ideological differences between us," he said. "It is unthinkable for two political parties that belong with the right-wing block to torpedo a right-wing government. I don't believe that would happen."

Speaking of the possibility of Sa'ar, Bennett, and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid forming a government, Deri said he believed it to be highly unlikely. 

"There is no way in the world that Lapid will give Sa'ar or Bennett the premiership, not even for a month," for Yesh Atid will be the biggest party of the three and will receive more seats than New Hope and Yamina combined, he explained. 

"Chances are that Shas will receive more seats than Bennett or Sa'ar," he added.  

Deri refuted Sa'ar's claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being "blackmailed" by the ultra-Orthodox parties. 

Sa'ar's campaign promise was to build a government, but instead of the 20 seats he was hoping to get, election polls predict a much lower number each week. 

"His advisers must have told him to target the ultra-Orthodox [parties,] which might stop the decline." 

Addressing his falling out with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, an avid opponent of Haredim, Deri said "there was no forgiveness" and called his former friendship with Lieberman the biggest mistake of his life. 

As for the mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, Deri blamed Blue and White and their chief Benny Gantz for they acted out of political considerations alone.

"It was impossible to make decisions on any subject when they [Blue and White] knew that they were approaching the election and their chances of crossing the [four-seat] electoral threshold were dwindling. It is much harder to make decisions [in such a situation.] 

"We saw this with every decision. We wanted to help businesses in Arnona [in Jerusalem,] which the Attorney General approved, but Blue and White vetoed because it would have helped Netanyahu."

According to Deri, mistakes were made in connection with education and the Ben Gurion Airport as well, for, in the past six months, decision-making has been "burdensome, slow and late."

The importance of education was not considered as high as it should have been, he explained. 

"Some say today that Haredim were right to have opened [their schools.] Now we understand the psychological impacts [of lockdowns] and how it affects students. I shouted to the government from day one that education should come first, that in case there is no choice, and the situation is catastrophic, and everything has to be closed down, then it should be. But if we open something, the first thing that should be opened is the schools."

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When Gideon Sa'ar left Likud to set up his own political party, New Hope, his aspirations were grand: he wanted to become Israel's next prime minister. But what started out as a promising campaign, internal party polls reveal, is turning into a battle for actually crossing the four-seat electoral threshold.

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Media polls conducted ahead of the March 23 election project that New Hope will only win six or seven seats.

Sa'ar presented himself as an alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appealing to Israelis who oppose the current prime minister. But you see, the Center-Left bloc camp already has a leader, and his name is Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid.

And so, Sa'ar's "Anyone but Bibi" campaign failed abysmally, and Likud's claims that New Hope's leader was incapable of forming a right-wing government prevailed.

New Hope has no voter base. Unlike Likud, Yesh Atid, Meretz, and the Labor party, Sa'ar's supporters do not feel obligated to actually support him.

With Sa'ar no longer being perceived as an alternative to Netanyahu, voters are looking for options elsewhere, with Yesh Atid or Yamina.

Nevertheless, all hope is not gone. The one person who can come to Sa'ar's rescue is Lapid. Both understand that only by joining forces can they succeed and Lapid had gone on the record as saying that even if Yesh Atid won  win more seats than New Hope, he would not contest Sa'ar bid for the PM's Office, were he to make one.

It is all in Lapid's hands now. Only he can heal the wounds New Hope has sustained and give focus to its election campaign and reinstate Sa'ar as a relevant political candidate.

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Gideon Sa'ar didn't coordinate his resignation with his supporters in the Likud, those who voted for him in the party primaries like Yoav Kisch, Sharren Haskel, and Haim Katz. He did speak with a few of them afterward, and they all had the same thing to say: You're making a mistake. You have to fight for your home from your home. We won't be joining your New Hope party.

One exception was Sa'ar's loyal supporter Likud MK Michal Shir. Although Shir said she would be sticking with Likud, many party members believe the price of quitting the Knesset is simply too high at this point. As soon as another election is called, they believe, Shir will be given a top spot on the new party's list. The same is true of Yifat Shasha-Biton, another rogue Likud MK Sa'ar has in his sights.

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Sa'ar recovered from the blow he was dealt with by his former fellow party members fairly quickly, finding solace in the support of Derech Eretz members Yoaz Handel and Zvi Hauser. If Sa'ar's move this week was unexpected, Hauser and Handel's decision to join up with Sa'ar just a day later was far less so. Those two have been looking for someone to take them past the electoral threshold; Yamina party head Naftali Bennett was in no rush to take them in, while Sa'ar is thirsty for both the political platform and funding their party will provide in an election campaign.

Blue and White head Benny Gantz should slam the brakes on efforts to call an election, seeing as he is predicted to crash and burn according to the polls. The same is true of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because Sa'ar's move could result in an alternative coalition being formed without him. Nevertheless, it's still hard to tell whether this will all end with an agreement or an election.

Bennett prefers to see the upside to Sa'ar's decision to run, but he is nevertheless aware of the risk. With Sa'ar, there's a better chance of forming a coalition without the Likud; two right-wing parties joining forces with two left-wing parties would be an easier pill to swallow, assuming they're able to garner 61 Knesset seats.

On the other hand, Sa'ar will be vying for Bennett's electorate – right-wingers who have had enough of Netanyahu. The Yamina head has gone overnight from being an enthusiastic proponent of early elections to someone who would rather see us hold off another round of voting for the time being. The way he sees it, Sa'ar's chances of wearing off on the Israeli public are greater than his. Time, if there is any, is on Bennett's side. Sa'ar beat Bennett to the punch when he enlisted Hauser and Handel to his cause. Although he had planned to poach at least one of them, by Tuesday night, even before their official announcement, he realized that that ship had sailed.

It's now Bennett's hope that Sa'ar won't gain too much steam and that current polling will be far from what we see at the polls come Election Day. He recalls his own experience forming the New Right – the overwhelming media support, the momentum that came too soon, and the great big flop at the moment of truth.

If former IDF Chief of Staff Gazi Eizenkot decides to join Sa'ar, though, this could change everything. Names like Hauser, Handel, and Shasha-Biton are good for party funding, but they aren't enough to bring in votes. Eizenkot is an entirely different story. The prestige of his former position could turn out to be a winning card, allowing the newly-formed party to rise to the status of the second largest party after the Likud and overtaking Bennett in the process.

Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid can't be feeling too good about things at this point either. This week's events, and the infighting they have set off, have made the right-wing camp more relevant than ever and left the other camp out in the cold. If this situation holds, we may yet see Telem head Moshe Ya'alon abandon his alliance with Lapid and join one of the parties on the Right.

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