Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli, who heads the Labor party, criticized Israeli interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid's attempts to pressure her into joining together with the Meretz party, saying such a union would not benefit the bloc as a whole.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Michaeli said, "There are many forces which are working against us, among them other parties in the bloc. Lapid's campaign for the unity of Meretz and Labor distracts people from discussing the advantages of the Labor party, and [Defense Minister Benny] Gantz (National Unity) is also working against us in various ways. And it's legitimate, this is politics, but we will start our campaign now, we will present our values, and we will speak to the public at eye level, as we do so well. We will increase the party's power."
Labor is currently polling at around five Knesset seats, but Michaeli insisted, "We have a great potential for voters. We've only just started our campaign."
She added, "There will not be a Labor-Meretz union. There was such an attempt, and it failed. In 2020, they ran together and brought seven Knesset seats. In 2021 they ran separately and brought 13 Knesset seats. A union between Labor and Meretz is not good for the bloc, it is good for Lapid, he's thinking about his own personal good. A union of Labor and Meretz is liable to bring back [former Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu (Likud). I am care about the State of Israel, and this is not open for discussion. Meretz will pass, Labor will increase its power, and this will strengthen the bloc."
When asked whether a government which includes the Joint Arab List is a legitimate government, Michaeli responded, "I do not see the Joint Arab List joining a government. I am saying clearly: There are basic lines, a party which is committed to the Zionist vision, to the State of Israel as a home for the Jewish nation with complete equal rights - from my perspective, it is invited to the government. Will the Joint Arab List be there? Apparently not."
"The Labor party will do the maximum to form a government which will prevent a Netanyhu-Ben-Gvir government," she concluded, referring to Otzma Yehudit leader MK Itamar Ben-Gvir.