Jewish Home chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett warned the public today (Friday) against giving Likud too much power in the next elections.
Bennett was asked about the situation in Gaza, in an interview on 103FM radio. "I must say that there is no magic solution," he replied. "We already had a Likud-led government that took Israel out of Gush Katif."
"By the way, that was a government [led by a party] with 40 MKs," he said. "And speaking of a party with 40 Knesset seats, when Likud has 40 MKs, they do heavy damage to the state of Israel, like the evacuation of Gush Katif, like a Palestinian state, like a freeze on construction, et cetera," Bennett warned.
Bennett's statements were a reference to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's statement last week that Likud's goal for the next election is 40 MKs – but that 35 MKs would also be a good result.
Likud currently has 30 Knesset seats. The Jewish Home, which currently has 8 MKs, has vied with Likud for nationalist votes in recent elections. Bennett has said he sees himself as running for the post of prime minister "after the Netanyahu era".
The Israeli pullout from Gaza, which included the demolition of the Gush Katif settlement bloc, was carried out by the government of Ariel Sharon, under whom Likud received 38 Knesset seats in the 2003 elections.