Yair Lapid
Yair Lapidצילום: אלעד גוטמן.

Confidants of Yamina chief MK Naftali Bennett have reached out to haredi lawmakers in a bid to win their support for the formation of an alternative government.

Officials close to Bennett have appealed to MKs from the United Torah Judaism party, urging them to consider joining a new government led first by Bennett, and later by Yesh Atid chief and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

In their appeal, Yamina officials told haredi lawmakers that Lapid has expressed a willingness to reconcile his differences with them and to bridge the divide on major issues.

According to a report by Kol Barama, the two sides have made significant progress is closing the gap between them, including on issues such as maintaining the status quo on matters of religion and state and the passage of a new draft law normalizing the status of yeshiva student deferments.

Arutz Sheva has been informed that despite the progress, officials close to UTJ chief Moshe Gafni remain skeptical of the offer.

On Monday afternoon, UTJ’s Knesset delegation informed President Reuven Rivlin that the party recommends Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership.