The Likud party is willing to provide Yamina chief MK Naftali Bennett with legislative protection against being fired from the government, News 11 reported Saturday.
The protection would include other members of the Yamina party as well as Bennett himself, and it would be in addition to the senior positions offered to party members, the report said.
According to reports, Yamina has been offered all of the portfolios currently held by Defense Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White party, in exchange for agreeing to join a government led by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
In addition, a senior Likud official told Kan News that if MK Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) does not agree to join the government by the time Netanyahu's mandate is up, the Likud will weigh bringing a government which relies on the United Arab List (Ra'am) to a vote, to see if Religious Zionism will vote against it.
Thus far, the Religious Zionism party has staunchly opposed the formation of a government which includes the United Arab List in any form. Earlier this week, Smotrich told Israel Hayom: that his party will "vote against any cooperation with [UAL chief MK Mansour] Abbas. It will not stand and will not be."