Amit Segal
Amit SegalHadas Parush/Flash 90

Political pundit Amit Segal discussed in his weekly column in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper the possibility of a new elections taking place in Israel in the coming months.

"New elections would be terrible news for most Knesset members, but especially for [Ayelet] Shaked and [Naftali] Bennett. They will face a spectacular choice between continuing their loathsome partnership with the Chardalim, a joint crash with the New Right, or stepping down," Segal wrote.

"It is with this background that you have to interpret Bennett’s change of direction. He has paid heavy prices in recent years for the ongoing brawl with Netanyahu.”

“Likud voters, not the national religious Jews, saw him as a hostile factor. Shaked, on the other hand, made sure not to speak out against Netanyahu and maintained high popularity in the Likud. Now there seems to be a dramatic change: Bennett is turning to the Likud audience and Shaked is investing in religious Zionism. The possibility that a third election will result in their final separation should not be ruled out."

Segal added, "Even if joining the Likud does not occur before the elections, and even if Netanyahu steps down after the elections, the Likud constituency is the future of the right. If Bennett has big aspirations, he can forget about them without the one million voters mentioned above, and the way to appease them is through support for the man who got their vote five times in the last decade."

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)