Blue and White party leaders
Blue and White party leadersElad Malka

MK Yair Lapid (Blue and White) responded on Sunday evening to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech against the establishment of a minority government, calling on Netanyahu to waive his conditions for the formation of a unity government.

"If Netanyahu is so hysterical about the idea of a minority government – let him come and establish a unity government with us, say goodbye to the haredi-messianic bloc, agree to be the second to serve as Prime Minister as part of a rotation agreement and we can have a unity government within 48 hours," Lapid said.

"The problem is that Netanyahu decided, based on advice from his lawyers, that he is going to another election," claimed Lapid.

MK Moshe Ya'alon (Blue and White) said, "As Netanyahu takes care of Netanyahu and leads to elections, we continue to work towards a government that will take care of the citizens."

Earlier, hundreds of Likud activists gathered at the Tel Aviv Expo Center for an “emergency conference” called to protest the possible establishment of a left-wing government without majority backing in the Knesset.

Netanyahu addressed the gathering, discussing the latest efforts to form a unity government with the Blue and White party and calling on the center-left party not to form a left-wing minority government with the support of Arab lawmakers from the opposition.

"We are at a crucial moment for the State of Israel. The leaders of Blue and White - Benny Gantz, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Bogie Ya’alon - have decided to form a minority government that will be dependent on members of the Joint List," Netanyahu claimed.

Netanyahu noted that he opposed reliance on the anti-Zionist, predominantly Arab Joint List over its positions, not the fact that its lawmakers are Arabs.

"When I say [Joint] Arab [List], I don't mean because they're Arabs. Arabs can be Zionists and support the State of Israel. But the [Joint List] isn't Zionist, and they don't support the State of Israel," he said.

"During the election you campaigned on the slogan 'Israel above all else'. But now the truth comes out, it isn't 'Israel above all else', it is 'the government above all else'."