Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, who headed Meretz until Zehava Galon won the primaries, responded to Israeli interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid's recent meeting with Galon and Labor chair and Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli.
In the three-way meeting on Saturday night, Lapid attempted to convince the two to agree to a merger, so as to ensure that neither party would risk falling below the electoral threshold in the upcoming elections. While Galon apparently was open to the merger, Michaeli refused Lapid's offers and insisted that there be no more discussions on the matter.
"I am disappointed that there is no union with Labor," Horowitz told Galatz. "My opinion is that two parties which are close need to run together."
"I always believed in this. This is an issue of principle, and it's a shame that it is not happening due to Labor's stubbornness."
When asked about the mass resignations by medical residents, Horowitz said, "The general approach by the Finance Ministry sees the public [health] system as a burden, they think that every shekel that goes to healthcare or education is wasted - this is a destructive approach. We heard the Finance Ministry's words, there is no tax on words but there is a record. We have already reached an agreement, and these things were said and budgeted for."