
New Right MK and former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked warned Tuesday that if Israel heads to its third Knesset election in twelve months, the right-wing bloc could be severely weakened, possibly to the point where the Left could reach an absolute majority of 61 seats in the Knesset.
Speaking at a ceremony in the southern Israeli city of Sderot marking the dedication of a city square in honor of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Shaked emphasized that the Right must work to prevent new elections.
“We are doing everything to prevent new elections. It is estimated that if we have new elections, the Right will be weakened. There is a real danger that in the next election, if it happens, the Left and the Arabs will get to 61 seats.”
A poll released Tuesday shows the Left gaining strength, with the center-left Blue and White party projected to win 37 seats if Israel goes to elections yet again.
The Panels Politics poll shows the Likud receiving just 30 seats.
On Monday, New Right chief Naftali Bennett declared that his party is prepared to run independently if new elections are held.
"If the leaders of the various parties do not come together, we will find ourselves in another 15 days in the third election campaign within a year."
"If we run into an election campaign against our will - the New Right party will run as an independent party for the Knesset. I have already updated the Prime Minister, he is aware, we are running as a party and will be open to connections. We will do what is right for the State of Israel. The New Right is returning to the center of the map in a big way," Bennett said.
New Right chairwoman MK Ayelet Shaked said that she felt that further elections were inevitable. "We are not yet desperate to have Liberman return to the right-wing bloc, but that seems highly unlikely. The most realistic scenario is a third election campaign."