Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett said in an interview with Arutz Sheva Sunday that he would not help Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid form a government following the elections this Tuesday.
"I am a man of the Land of Israel from the womb and from birth," Bennett said, "as I have already promised: I will not lend my hand to a government headed by Lapid, not even in a rotation, because I am a right-wing man. Period."
The Yamina chairman dismissed accusations from Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Likud party that he would help the left rise to power. "I will never help Lapid become prime minister because his positions are the opposite of mine."
This morning, Netanyahu said in an interview with Yisrael Bardugo on Israel Hayom that Bennett intends to form a government in partnership with Yair Lapid, thereby effectively transferring right-wing votes to the left.
"Bennett transfers votes from right to left. You will get Bennett as a minister in the Lapid government if you vote for him. Yesterday at the studio he hugged Gideon Sa'ar and said they would be in the coalition together. Sa'ar says he will not be in the coalition with Netanyahu, so that means Bennett will end up with Lapid." Netanyahu claimed.
The prime minister added that Bennett "is unable to say that he will go with us into a right-wing government. A government of Lapid, Saar and Bennett would be unstable and it will disintegrate quickly and we will go to the polls again. Vote for me and there will be a stable and strong government."
The Israel Hayom newspaper this morning unveiled a coordinated plan between the Religious Zionism Party and the Likud to transfer votes from Bennett to Smotrich with the intention of strengthening the latter's party.