Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel SmotrichYonatan Sindel/Flash90

The Likud party is fuming at Religious Zionism chair MK Bezalel Smotrich, for preventing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from forming a government supported from the outside by the United Arab List (Ra'am).

The small Arab party, which broke off from the Joint Arab List and currently holds four Knesset seats, has expressed willingness to work with anyone willing to provide what it is demanding for its constituents.

Journalist Yuval Karni quoted a senior Likud figure as saying that "if Bezalel Smotrich torpedoes the formation of a right-wing government and drags us to fifth elections, we will go for his head and make sure he does not pass the electoral threshold."

Earlier, Likud sources were quoted by Israel Hayom as saying that Smotrich's announcement that he will not sit in a government which relies on the United Arab List essentially eliminated what is nearly the only option for a government headed by Netanyahu.

"He has no way to form a government - only [one] led by [Yamina chair MK Naftali] Bennett," the source said. "That's the truth at the moment."