בנט ושקד
בנט ושקדצילום: יוסי זליגר, פלאש 90

With less than 48 hours before President Reuven Rivlin’s mandate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government expires, the Yamina party has abandoned plans to form an alternative government with Netanyahu’s rivals, political officials estimate according to a report by Israel Hayom, with Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked reportedly deciding to side with Netanyahu.

Officials in the opposition bloc castigated Bennett and Shaked Sunday, accusing them of “deciding to topple the change bloc.”

They claimed that the two Yamina leaders are working towards forming a government with Netanyahu and have no intention of working with Yesh Atid chairman and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

The Yamina party maintains that it is committed to preventing a fifth round of elections, with a preference for forming a right-wing government. Party officials said Netanyahu has agreed to a power-sharing arrangement with Bennett, in which the Yamina chief would serve first as prime minister, before Netanyahu rotated in.

Yamina is continuing its efforts to bring the New Hope party of Gideon Sa’ar into a new Likud-led coalition – which Sa’ar has hitherto refused to do.

Some opposition officials cited in the Israel Hayom report downplayed Bennett’s apparent support for a new Netanyahu government, calling it a negotiation tactic meant to extract concessions from Lapid – including Lapid’s agreement that Bennett, rather than Lapid, should receive President Rivlin’s mandate to form a government, should Netanyahu fail to build a coalition by Tuesday night.