Likud MK Gideon Saar called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tweet on Thursday to “take advantage of the postponement of the swearing-in of the new government to resume negotiations with Yamina to join the new unity government.
“The gaps can be bridged and it would be a pity if the closest ideological partner to the Likud would be left out,” he wrote.
“It is important that the parliamentary bloc of the national camp maintains its unity.”
אני קורא לראש הממשלה נתניהו לנצל את הדחיה בהשבעת הממשלה כדי לחדש את המו״מ עם ״ימינה״ להצטרפותה לקואליציה. הפערים ניתנים לגישור וחבל שהשותפה האידיאולוגית הקרובה ביותר לליכוד תישאר בחוץ. חשוב שהגוש הפרלמנטרי של המחנה הלאומי ישמור על אחדותו.
— גדעון סער (@gidonsaar)
Bayit Yehudi leader Rabbi Rafi Peretz had left the Yamina alliance to join the new government prior to the Thursday’s scheduled swearing-in ceremony, having made a decision not to join the opposition.
Although he was originally slated to receive the portfolio for both the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and also that for National Projects, it now appears the prime minister may be trying to dial back the agreement on the Jerusalem Affairs portfolio, which originally had reportedly been promised to MK Tzipi Hotovely.