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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Having likely realized his party of incitement and hatred is on the path to the trash bin of Israeli politics, Avigdor Lieberman is stressed out.

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Founded in 1999 and headed by Lieberman from Day 1, Yisrael Beytenu cannot point to one single achievement over the years. Good citizens that made aliyah from former Soviet states have for years served as pawns in the party leader's game. Lieberman has a unique ability to change the focus of his hatred and sling mud at various sectors in Israeli society. At one time, it was the disloyal Arabs, and then it was the "messianic" religious Zionists. Now, of course, it's the Haredim he refers to as a "piggish cult."

His stated desire to put the Haredim and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a wheelbarrow and toss them into the nearest landfill is proof Lieberman's hatred and rudeness are without limit. He will go down in Israeli political history as the person who pushed it to degenerate to record levels of hatred and disgust. More than anything else, the giggles in the television studios over Lieberman's remarks are symbolic of the miserable state of a biased media that specializes in spewing hatred everywhere.

It's no surprise, then, that Yisrael Beytenu and the Joint Arab List, parties that were once sworn enemies, are now natural partners. Both parties share a common goal: the disintegration of Israeli society from within. The Joint Arab List acts in the terror-supporting Palestinian Authority's interests, creating an ongoing and dangerous confrontation between Israel's Arab and Jewish citizens. Yisrael Beytenu incessantly incites Israeli citizens who hail from the former Soviet Union against the religious and Haredi sectors, thereby fanning the flames of hate for hatred's sake. This hatred was the cause of the Second Temple's destruction and now threatens the third.

Many of Lieberman's voters have issues with the issue of conversion and matters of religion and state. It turns out that petty politicians believe it's easier to earn votes through shared hatred. The immigrant community is wrong to think Lieberman's conduct will help them with the issues that matter most to them. The opposite is true. This antagonism will only make it harder to reach a resolution, and appropriate solutions must be reached through mutual consideration.

Yisrael Beytenu's voters are beginning to realize they're being used. My suggestion to them would be not to support a party that raises the banner of hatred. They are all too familiar with what hatred looks like where they come from. A million immigrants who came to Israel from the former Soviet Union have been well-assimilated and no longer need a sectorial political party that serves no one but its leader. We all came to Israel to build and be built, not to hate and destroy. The time has come to kick out hate and come together in love.

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On Sunday evening, the Likud was scheduled to hold a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv at which Netanyahu is expected to embrace his primaries rival Gideon Sa'ar and call on him to work with the rest of the Likud to ensure that the party wins the March 2 election.

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In another Likud development, party officials believe Netanyahu will appoint Foreign Minister Israel Katz as head of the Likud election committee after his success waging Netanyahu's campaign in the primaries. As part of an attempt to bolster the party's fieldwork, Likud ministers and MKs will be assigned specific areas of the country for which they will be responsible during the campaign.

Likud faction leader MK Miki Zohar told Israel Hayom that, "The primaries were a great indication of how to win an election and how to get stronger ahead of the general election. We used two very clear strategies: A lot of time out in the field campaigning, which 'woke up' our side, as well as not attacking the opponent and nearly ignoring his existence. We saw in the primary results how that put a damper on the other side."

According to Zohar, "Right now, the seat equation is difficult. There, voter turnout comes into play. We need to create a situation in which our bloc turns out to vote in very high numbers … When it comes to the other side, we need to ignore his existence."

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In a tweet on Monday, Netanyahu accused Blue and White leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid of refusing to establish a unity government.

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"Gantz and Lapid, enough with the transparent tricks designed to distract attention from your refusal to establish a broad national unity government that would establish a defense pact with the US and annex major parts of Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu wrote.

"Because Lapid and Gantz are continuing to refuse and spending their time on hollow spin, there is only one way of preventing another election: I am calling on Avigdor Lieberman to undertake negotiations in 'high gear' in the 48 hours we have left to establish a strong unity government for Israel," Netanyahu's tweet continued.

Blue and White said in response to Netanyahu's tweet that "the only thing that is transparent is Netanyahu's desire to lead Israel into a third election so he can secure immunity. Netanyahu, free Israel."

Netanyahu sent out his Twitter message after Lapid's announcement at a Blue and White faction meeting earlier Monday that in the event of a third election, Gantz would run as the sole leader of the Blue and White list, without a rotation.

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Speaking at a press conference, Lieberman ruled out joining in a narrow right-wing government or a minority government and said both Likud and Blue and White were to blame for this impasse.

"We won't enter a government-backed directly or indirectly by the Joint List," he said. "We are now on a sure path toward another election."

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He blasted both the Joint Arab List and ultra-Orthodox parties for being "anti-Zionist" and posing a direct threat to Israel's security.

Lieberman also slammed the Likud for giving in to ultra-Orthodox demands and said he would no longer allow the country to be "extorted" by religious parties.

However, he said, anything can still happen in the next 24 hours.

"Who knows what will happen tonight," he said. "Maybe we'll all be smarter in the morning."

Lieberman revealed that he turned down enticing offers by Likud and Blue and White, but ultimately, had to do what he thought was in the best interest of the country.

He called for the country to undergo many electoral reforms, including adopting a law mandating that every citizen vote (like Australia) and urged Zionist parties to come to some sort of consensus on religion and state issues.

Gantz's mandate to present a government was to elapse on midnight, Wednesday. Barring a surprising shift by the Yisrael Beytenu leader, whose push for a national unity government has vested his party with the power to decide the fate of the next government, Gantz is expected to return the mandate to President Reuven Rivlin. Once he does that the Knesset has 21 days to rally behind a would-be prime minister, or else, another election is called.

No progress was made on Tuesday in the coalition negotiations as Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for a last-ditch effort to cobble together Israel's next coalition. Sources privy to the meeting said the discussions lasted for about an hour and ended with no apparent resolution to the crisis gripping Israeli politics.

Netanyahu and Gantz traded barbed on Tuesday night, accusing each other of undermining the chances of forming a unity government.

Sources in Blue and White said Tuesday that all options remained viable, including the formation of a minority government with the outside support of the Joint Arab List.

In a statement released late on Tuesday night, Gantz said he would "continue to make every effort and turn every stone to try to reach understandings and form a government even in the remaining time, in order to prevent costly and unnecessary elections that are contrary to the will of the citizens of Israel."

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According to the official, Likud officials held meetings among themselves as well as with Lieberman to prepare for a scenario in which Tuesday's election would result in a tie between the right-wing and left-wing blocs. These meetings discussed possible ways of ousting Netanyahu and making another Likud MK party head, and thereby responsible for assembling the next government, the official said.

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However, on Tuesday night, many senior Likud members were reiterating their loyalty to Netanyahu, including Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkin, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, Economy Minister Eli Cohen, and Coalition Chairman MK David Amsalem.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely and MK Yoav Kisch also expressed public support for Netanyahu.

On Wednesday morning, Lieberman spoke to reporters outside his home and discussed the near-final election results, according to which neither the Right nor the Left had secured the 61 seats necessary for a coalition government. With a projected nine seats for Yisrael Beytenu, pending the announcement of the final results, Lieberman could wind up being the person who decides who will assemble the next government.

"There is only one option – a national unity government," Lieberman said.

"We don't need any other option. We won't sit [in a coalition] with the Arabs, that's absurd. Everyone needs to understand that it's a shame to waste time debating and exerting pressure. We need to get onto one path, as quickly as possible – a path of national unity," Lieberman declared.

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But in order to form such a government, Netanyahu must achieve a majority of at least 61 Knesset seats from right-wing parties outside of Yisrael Beytenu. While this is still a possibility, according to the polls, it is highly unlikely. And what then? Netanyahu cannot afford to be led into another round of elections, and the president may not task him with forming the next government but rather Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz, who has yet to be be given the opportunity to try.

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In the meantime, the battle within the blocs is in full swing. Netanyahu came out on the attack against Shaked and Bennett this week, accusing them of seeking to join a left-wing government. The two responded by saying it was in fact Netanyahu who was looking to form a government with left-wing elements instead of a party on the Right.

This battle serves both sides, and not just in the battle over right-wing votes and the ability to influence the narrative that will decide the results of the Sept. 17 election, but over the morning after. Netanyahu has promised to only work toward forming a right-wing government. Shaked and Bennett, on the other hand, have promised to only join a government led by Netanyahu. Should Netanyahu or Bennett and Shaked be so inclined as to violate their campaign promises, they will all be able to claim that the other side made the move first.

According to the polls, President Reuven Rivlin could be hard-pressed to decide just who he should task with forming the next government. The law determines that it must be the candidate with the greatest chances of success. But if none of the candidates have a majority of recommendations or an obstructive bloc, the president will be forced to examine other tools in making his decision, tools the likes of which have never been used in Israel before.

From Netanyahu's perspective, no outcome would be as desirable as a right-wing government with at least a 61-MK majority, although Israel will not necessarily be headed for another election even in the absence of such a majority.

One of the assessments as to why the Likud party is not attacking Gantz this time around is based on a theory that Netanyahu intends to offer the Blue and White party leader the role of senior partner in the government. Of course, both sides adamantly deny this is the case, but a few notes from the election campaign support this theory, beginning with the tense ties among members of Blue and White, in particular between Gantz and Lapid, and including Gantz's slips of the tongue in almost every interview he gives where it becomes abundantly clear that some type of partnership with Netanyahu is most certainly on the table.

The law determines that President Reuven Rivlin must task the candidate with the greatest chances of success with forming the government. But if none of the candidates emerge as such, the president will have to examine other options, including some the likes of which have never been used in Israel before

It is not only right-wing parties that are concerned by such a scenario, but also Lapid's Yesh Atid. In recent weeks, it seems Lapid is making every effort to differentiate himself from Gantz, in particular on matters concerning religion and state and the treatment of the haredim.

But Gantz is not Netanyahu's only option. Despite the mutual denials in this case as well, the assessment is that an alliance with Amir Peretz's Labor Party is also on the table.

Conducting negotiations with a right-wing candidate after that candidate has won is now part of the Labor party's DNA. With the exception of Shelly Yachimovich, all of Labor's recent party heads – Ehud Barak, Isaac Herzog, and Avi Gabbay – entered coalition talks with Netanyahu despite their having committed to not joining a government under his leadership. While Peretz is now making the same commitment, is there anyone now taking these oaths seriously? What's more, Peretz is no longer alone.

Gesher leader Orly Levy-Abekasis is part of the Labor party's Knesset list and could withdraw, together with her party members, from the alliance at any point she likes. Levy-Abekasis talks about binging about a change in Israel's priorities, and that is something that can only be done from within the government, not the opposition. At any rate, she has never said anything about refusing to join a Netanyahu government.

And there is one more option, which while far-fetched, remains a possibility in our political system: Likud will form a government with Lieberman. Yes, the same man who dragged the entire country into another election may decide for his own personal reasons to join the government, this time with the haredim and the "messianic Right," and relinquish his demand for a unity government, which it turns out, doesn't have much public support in any case.

But Lieberman can continue to insist that his demands be met. Netanyahu was once forced in 2013 to give up on a partnership with the haredi factions over Bennett's demands, and it may be that he will be forced to do so again to meet Lieberman's. This time, things could go even further, and see Netanyahu break ties not just with the haredim but with Habayit Hayehudi's Smotrich and Rafi Peretz as well. While Netanyahu prefers these two over Bennett and Shaked, Lieberman has already made it clear that the Zionist haredim are out of the question, but Bennett, and of course Shaked, are acceptable.

The political system may have already managed to forget, but Shaked and Lieberman are close. Lieberman has spoken warmly of Shaked on more than one occasion and even expressed hope she would join Yisrael Beytenu before she made the decision to continue with the United Right. Should Lieberman, someone who is openly interested in bringing down Netanyahu, join forces with Shaked, who secretly wants that to happen in order to pave her way back to the Likud, we may see some drama the day after the election.

And what if Shaked and Lieberman are in fact even more coordinated, with the aim of ensuring not just that a Netanyahu government is formed without the haredim, but that a government is formed without Netanyahu himself? And what chance do the other candidates have of forming a government if the president tasks someone like Gantz with forming the government?

The assessment is that, should Blue and White be tasked with forming the next government, this would be the glue the party needs in order to keep from falling apart immediately after the election. Gantz will need a majority, while Lapid will cling to the rotation agreement with all his might. But Lapid and the haredim do not go together, and Nitzan Horowitz, Stav Shaffir, and Ehud Barak's Democratic Union will not be thrilled about collaborating with Smotrich and his friends. Barak ruled out cooperating with Lieberman just last week.

Gantz's chances of heading the government, then, are practically nonexistent, assuming the election outcome will be similar to what has been predicted by the polls. Should Gantz opt for the haredim, he will need to say goodbye to Lapid and all his friends in Yesh Atid, without whom he has no chance of garnering a majority.

For Gantz, the best-case scenario would be a rotation government with the Likud. Gantz has seemingly ruled out serving with Netanyahu, but as he himself said just this week, the opportunity to serve in the role of premier, if only for a limited time, could make this bitter pill much easier to swallow. Should Likud and Blue and White join forces, the possibilities are much more varied. The two parties could form a government with Lieberman and the New Right, or with the haredim and the United Right and without Lieberman. We might even see Peretz and Levy-Abekasis jump on that bandwagon.

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Outside of politics, it's a different world. Russian and Russian-speaking immigrants are an integral part of Israeli society – in the military, in business, in the workforce, in culture, in the arts, and of course, in academia. They are a heterogeneous society that includes religious and assimilated members, traditional Jews and atheists. But something still binds them to the world of values from which they came. It's not only the language, it's an entire world of characteristics and worldviews. In every election campaign, parties try to reach out to this rich, multifaceted world to score votes. Not all of them can. Not all of them manage to.

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The Likud party, for example, has decided this time to launch a full-power campaign to court Russian-speaking voters. It looks as if the party has put unprecedented resources into its Russian-language campaign headquarters. That's how it is when Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, the most successful Russian-language campaigner of all time, left the national camp two months ago and became the element that will tip the scales in the next election.

Despite the enormous resources and budget, the Likud still hasn't figure out how to move votes from Lieberman to Netanyahu. It seems that decades of immovable voting patterns can no longer be changed. They can barely be nudged.

It is even harder for the left-wing parties to convince the Russian-speaking public that their path is the right one. On civil issues like separation of religion and state, they have something in common, but when it comes to diplomacy, the left-wing parties lose the Russian speakers. Russia is a world superpower. Although they got out as soon as they could in the early 1990s, when the huge nation collapsed, the sense of pride and commitment to excel at any price still courses through their veins and will not allow them to accept any scenario of concessions and ineffectiveness, which is what the Left is offering.

On the other hand, when it comes to religion and state, the situation is completely the opposite. For those who arrived from a country in which there was an extreme, even radical separation between religion and state, the Likud is seen as problematic because of its alliance with the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Lieberman managed to crack the code, but he, too, has lost the thread in recent years. From the 15 seats his party won in 2009, Lieberman dropped to only five in the April election. The Russian-speaking public might be rigid, but they aren't stupid. Many of them called his bluff and abandoned him. This round could decide everything – both for them, and for Israeli society as a whole.

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"We are not in disagreement … We all, if we could, would like the State of Israel to act according to the Torah and Jewish law. We just can't because there are other people who think differently, and we need to get along with them. But we often encounter supposed contradictions that can be mitigated without needing to pay a price."

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Smotrich began by saying, "I believe that with care and attention, we can solve a majority of the problems. No doubt, one of the hot potatoes at the Transportation Ministry is work on Shabbat – infrastructure work, the train, the Yehudit Bridge [in Tel Aviv]. And it seems to me that, just like we know how to have an industry that is sustainable without polluting the atmosphere, we know how to have a modern state that must lay out infrastructure on a grand scale – without violating Shabbat."

Smotrich emphasized, "It's true, it demands care and attention. From the outset of the process, no one decided that the Yehudit Bridge needed to be engineered so that we need to close the Ayalon Highway for three consecutive days.

"If the Shabbat was an important value, then .… [the planners would know] this needs to be taken into consideration from the first stage."

He continued: "This is true regarding the question of whether we close a road or not. Roads are closed for competitions and marches, roads can also be closed in order to lay a bridge on a weekday. When there are will and attention, both can be done. There is not always a contradiction."

Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Lieberman blasted Smotrich for the remarks.

"It is unbelievable how, yet again, without blinking, we hear Minister Smotrich declare that if it were up to him and his friends, they would cancel the laws in the State of Israel and force a state governed by Jewish law on us that operates only according to Torah law."

He added, "We've got news for you: You won't need to get along with us because on Sept. 18 [the day after the election], a broad nationalist, liberal government will be established without you and without all those trying to force a state on us that is governed by Jewish law."

Responding to Lieberman's criticism, Smotrich said, "It was because of baseless hate that Jerusalem was destroyed. How sad that at the height of the days of mourning of Bein ha-Metzarim [the three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av], there are those among us who remind us of the terrible rift that led to nothing more than hate."

"This morning, it was [Blue and White party leader Yair] Lapid, and this evening, it's Lieberman. They tell me, 'give it back to him,' but I remind myself why I am not fixing my beard, avoiding eating meat and following other mourning practices. I will not fall into this trap. Not at this time."

Smotrich concluded by saying, "I suggest and ask that everyone before they are influenced by the hatred and categorization, watch the full clip of my speech at the Beit Hill conference of rabbis. Therefore love truth and peace."

Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz took to Twitter to assert that "Smotrich wants a state governed by Jewish law. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will give it to him in return for immunity."

In a statement, the Democratic Union said, "These are the people who the suspect from Balfour [Street in Jerusalem, where the Prime Minister's Residence is located] has given the keys to run the state, and all so that they can rescue him from the terror of the law. We must win the coming election. A loss would mean Smotrich turning the State of Israel into a state that is governed according to Jewish law, in return for immunity from Netanyahu's prosecution."

Smotrich once again responded to the criticism, saying, "The things I said are called consideration for other sectors of the public. This is a democracy. I am not prepared to have a sector trampled on because of my beliefs – not the haredim, not the secular. I am also prepared for a variety of opinions to be voiced even if they are not my own. All of this is missing from Lieberman's and Lapid's discourse. Look at all of my remarks and not a quarter of a sentence."

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While in New York, Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump.

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As the outcome of the election and coalition talks could influence the feasibility of the trip, the Prime Minister's Office has informed the hotels where Netanyahu and his staff are staying that they may need to cancel their plans at the last minute.

Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for Netanyahu's trip to Kiev in two weeks' time.

While in the Ukrainian capital, the prime minister is expected to have his first meeting with the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky. The assessment is that Netanyahu will try to use the visit to steal votes away from Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, particularly from Ukrainian immigrants who have voted for Lieberman in the past.

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