Jewish Home and National Union party leaders Rabbi Rafi Peretz and MK Betzalel Smotrich explain their refusal to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
"We have great respect for the Prime Minister and are happy to meet with him to advance the State of Israel. We're taking his political advice seriously and have been engaged in intense dialogue with him in recent days," the two said.
"At the same time, we're running an independent party that makes its own decisions and isn't run by the Prime Minister or anyone else.
"We call on the Prime Minister not to abandon his efforts, to show personal example, and to bring as many right-wing connections as possible in the few days left before the lists are submitted, including Moshe Feiglin's Zehut, which according to the polls is liable to bring more votes of Otzmah Yehudit, with Kahlon and Liberman standing on the threshold, and even with Oren Hazan who announced an independent run for the Knesset," said Rabbi Peretz and MK Smotrich.