Avigdor Liberman
Avigdor LibermanFlash 90

Dr. Hagi Ben-Artzi, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University and the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, on Thursday expressed support for the steps taken by Netanyahu immediately following the elections.

"There is no right-winger who is not disappointed, because we expected a better outcome in which we will not be dependent on Liberman's whims and on a partnership with the left. But we must try and act within the existing situation," Ben-Artzi said in an interview with Arutz Sheva.

“The first thing that needs to be said is that Netanyahu is making the right move – forming one cohesive and unified right. Because that is the will of the voter - everyone who voted for the right-wing parties - voted for Netanyahu, because these parties have declared that they will stand to his right," he added.

Any coalition negotiations should be on the basis of a united bloc with the Likud, the religious and the haredi parties, said Ben-Artzi. He estimated that Netanyahu will have to offer Avigdor Liberman a rotation in the post of Prime Minister in the second part of the Knesset’s term.

"The next step should be to try to bring Avigdor Liberman and Yisrael Beytenu back into this bloc. Together with Liberman, this bloc will be large and stable, and this is a natural connection. Here, Netanyahu should make a radical move that may be difficult to carry out, and offer Avigdor Liberman a rotation as Prime Minister. It sounds ridiculous, but just as it was ridiculous that Liberman was given the Defense Ministry with five seats, there is currently no choice and he should be offered this generous offer that might allow him to forget the idea of liberal secular unity government without the religious and the haredim. It is possible that with such a generous and tempting offer he will agree to return to the right bloc."

If Liberman refuses, said Ben-Artzi, the negotiations with Blue and White should not come from a position of weakness. "We have to come to Blue and White and offer a rotation on condition that they accept Netanyahu as the head of the camp and this bloc as a Likud-religious-haredi bloc. They cannot accept only the Likud, because that goes against the will of the people."

In his opinion, there is no chance that Netanyahu does not succeed in forming a government and ends his political path without new elections. "After the last election, there is no possibility that Netanyahu steps down from the political stage without another election. The seats obtained by the right-wing were led by Binyamin Netanyahu and democracy means the will of the people.”

"If Netanyahu fails to form a government and a script develops in which they are looking for someone else to lead the rightist bloc, they must to go to the people. Anyone else who says he is the Likud candidate for Prime Minister, the people need to voice their trust in him. The people do not trust anyone but Netanyahu," concluded Ben-Artzi.