Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Yisrael Beytenu chief Avidgor Liberman at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem Tuesday morning, a day and a half before the mandate given to Blue and White chief Benny Gantz to form a government expires.
The meeting lasted for roughly one hour, and was followed by a joint statement from the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu, in which both sides characterized the meeting as “good and substantive”, and vowed to work towards the establishment of a national unity government with Blue and White.
“The meeting was good and substantive, and the two will continue their efforts to establish a unity government.”
Earlier Tuesday morning, Reshet Bet reported that a compromise deal had been offered to Yisrael Beytenu and the two haredi parties, in a bid to return Yisrael Beytenu to the right-wing bloc and enable the formation of a rightist government.
Under the proposed compromise deal, the haredi parties would cede a number of powerful positions they have held since 2015, including the Interior Ministry portfolio, currently held by Shas chief Aryeh Deri, and leadership of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, currently held by UTJ MK Moshe Gafni.
In exchange for these concessions, Yisrael Beytenu would waive its demands for changes to the status quo on religion and state, including civil marriage, state-funded public transportation on the Sabbath, and tougher rules for yeshiva students seeking army exemptions.