Avigdor Liberman
Avigdor LibermanPhoto by Hadas Parush/Flash90

MK Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, on Monday morning published a Facebook post saying he believes that Israel will be forced to hold new elections - its third in a year.

"Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Jerusalem Theater to see a play," he wrote. "Like everyone else, we arrived earlier and at the entrance, I was met by a young man who shook my hand and said, 'Listen, Liberman, I voted Yisrael Beytenu, but in all honesty, if you join a narrow government led by [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu, I won't forgive you.'"

"As we walked to the hall, two women came up and told me, 'You know something, we thought about voting for you next time, but because you didn't allow [Blue and White Chairman MK Benny] Gantz form a narrow government, we're not going to vote [for you].'

"At the end of the play - which by the way I really recommend for anyone who speaks or likes Yiddish - an older couple came up to me and said, 'Liberman, please do everything so that we won't have new elections, even if it means joining a narrow government led by Netanyahu.'"

"This trend has repeated itself over the past few weeks, and my conclusion is that there will always be someone who is not happy with what we do," he concluded. "But the only way I believe in and support is to be faithful to your path and protect the values and principles upon which Yisrael Beytenu was founded and by which we received the people's votes in the recent elections."

Liberman's party, traditionally part of the right-wing bloc, in April refused to form a coalition with Netanyahu and his traditional allies, demanding substantial changes in the status quo on issues of religion and state. He later claimed to support a unity government, made up of the Likud and Blue and White parties.

With eight Knesset seats, Yisrael Beytenu is crucial to any government which does not include both of the larger parties. However, Liberman refused to support a narrow left-wing government supported from the outside by the Joint Arab List, and has refused to join a narrow right-wing government as well.

Nearly a third of Israelis believe Liberman and his party are responsible for the political deadlock and the impending third elections.