Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett said on Saturday that he is not concerned by his party’s recent decline in polls, following the establishment of the New Hope party led by Gideon Sa’ar.

"I'm a fighter, not afraid of fights - especially when I understand what's at stake," Bennett told Channel 12 News in an interview. "There are endless political parties that are all about boycotts and then there is us, me, the only party that puts forward practical solutions. I see myself as a candidate for Prime Minister. I'm not blind - I know and see the picture, but I'm a fighter.”

Asked about his refusal to accept Meretz or the Arab parties as coalition partners, he explained that this is due to an ideological background and is not personal. "On an ideological basis, I cannot sit with anyone who opposes the State of Israel as a Jewish state," he clarified.

Bennett did hesitate to criticize Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu but did not rule him out as a partner in a future coalition.

"He needs to be replaced. He cannot unite the people, he cannot get us out of the mud. Life here is much more difficult and therefore, we must say goodbye to him with dignity. But unlike Sa’ar and [Yair] Lapid and [Avigdor] Liberman, I say to the voters of the Likud: 'These are our plans, give me your vote, but I respect your vote, you are not boycotted.'"

On Sa’ar, Bennett clarified, “He is not boycotted, what kind of question is that? All parties that recognize a Jewish and democratic Israel are invited to the government in any constellation. My demands will be ones of substance."

As for the increase in cases of coronavirus in Israel and the lockdown, he said, "They are not succeeding, they let things get out of control - and then they say a lockdown is needed. It is a terrible failure. There are almost a million unemployed people today, and no one presents a plan. The only one among all the candidates who did it and set up a business is me. Netanyahu rejected solutions I proposed so that I would not get credit for them."