Shaked (R) and Bennett in press conference
Shaked (R) and Bennett in press conferenceFlash 90

The New Right party of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked denied Wednesday morning reports that it has agreed to run on a joint ticket with the Jewish Home and National Union parties in the September 17th Knesset election, calling the claims “fake news”.

“Even though Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett have informed the author [of the report] that this is fake news, he continues to report it,” the New Right said in a statement. “The report is false.”

Reshet Bet had reported that the Jewish Home and National Union factions, which ran together as the United Right in the April election, had reached a preliminary agreement with the New Right for a joint run in the September election as a technical bloc.

According to the report, the joint list will be led either by outgoing Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked or MK Rafi Peretz (Jewish Home). In addition, the joint ticket will, if established, hold separate talks with the right-wing Otzma Yehudit faction, which ran on the United Right ticket in April.

On Tuesday, both Rafi Peretz and Naftali Bennett suggested they were interested in forming a broad coalition of right-wing parties to run as a technical bloc in the September election, to avoid a repeat of the April election, in which both the New Right and Zehut parties failed to clear the threshold.

“I’m in favor of political alliances, and there are overtures to Bennett and Shaked, we’re trying to see if it’s relevant to offer an alliance,” Peretz told the “HaOlam HaBoker” program Tuesday morning.

Peretz added that other alliances, including with former MK Moshe Feiglin and his Zehut faction were under consideration. But Peretz emphasized that regardless of whatever arrangements the United Right makes for the September election, he would not relinquish control of the party.