Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett revealed in an interview with Channel 12 News, which will air in full on Saturday night, that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approached him before the election and offered him the post of Defense Minister.
The Yamina chairman said that Netanyahu called him before the dissolution of the government and offered him a return to the position he previously held, but that Bennett refused.
"I told him, 'You need to be replaced,'" said Bennett. He stressed that he does not hate Netanyahu and that he should be thanked for 33 years of service, but called on him: "Let go."
On Friday, Ayelet Shaked who is in the number 2 spot on Bennett's slate, told Channel 12 News, "Everything is being done so as not to go to a fifth election."
Shaked also responded to Netanyahu’s demand of a commitment from Bennett to form a right-wing government, and said, "Any connection between Netanyahu and making a commitment is absolutely coincidental."
"Once Bennett and Yamina are big - Netanyahu's government will tremble," Shaked added. On the possibility of formation of a coalition with Yesh Atid, she clarified, "We will not sit under a government headed by Yair Lapid."
(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.)