Officials from the Yamina party accused Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Sunday evening of rejecting overtures for a ‘reconciliation government,’ claiming that the Yesh Atid chairman is working towards forming a left-wing government relying on the Joint Arab List and the United Arab List (Ra’am).
“Lapid doesn’t want a reconciliation government,” Yamina officials were quoted as saying by Channel 12, “he wants a hard Left government with the support of the Arab parties.”
Defense Minister and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz met with Lapid Sunday evening to discuss the possibility of forming an alternative government and ousting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from power.
“The meeting between Minister of Defense Benny Gantz and Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid has finished,” a Yesh Atid spokesperson said Sunday. “The two discussed ways to form a new government. Discussions are expected to continue in the coming days.”
Kan reported Sunday night that Defense Minister and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz is not expected to commit tonight to endorsing Lapid for the premiership.
Lapid also met with MK Mansour Abbas, chairman of the United Arab List (Ra’am), on Sunday.
Abbas reportedly laid out a number of conditions for supporting an alternative government to unseat Prime Minister Netanyahu, including a practical plan for combating crime in the Arab sector, recognition of illegal Bedouin settlements in the Negev, and the freezing of the Kaminitz Law, which has made it easier for the government to combat illegal construction.