I Pledge Allegiance to Netanyahu

Leaders of the right-wing and religious Shas, Yemina and United Torah Judaism parties signed a joint letter in which they declared that they will support only Benjamin Netanyahu after the upcoming March elections.

The joint letter sent to Netanyahu on Sunday said that the right-wing bloc leaders are convinced that the bloc will reach the 61 seats required to form a stable national government.

The letter was initiated by Shas leader Aryeh Deri.

In response, Netanyahu stated that the pledge “is the last nail in [Blue and White leader Benny] Gantz’s bluff.”

“It is clearer than ever that Gantz cannot form a government without the support or abstention of Ahmad Tibi and the Joint List. A government that depends on the Joint List will be a danger to Israel’s security,” he said.

“Only a large Likud will establish a strong right-wing government, safeguard Israel and ensure that the left-wing government backed by Ahmad Tibi will not be formed,” he added.

Gantz said that pledge is “not worth the page on which it was written.”

The latest polls show that the outcome of the third round of elections in March will resemble that of the second round of elections in September, and that with the current political stalemate, Israel is headed towards a fourth round of elections with no resolution in sight.