Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yamina party chairman Naftali Bennett met on Thursday evening for more than two hours and discussed ways to form a coalition.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a joint statement issued by the Likud and Yamina said, "The meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett just concluded. The meeting was conducted in a good spirit and in a positive atmosphere. It was agreed that they would meet again."
Before entering the meeting, Bennett said that "since the election, countless Israelis have appealed to me, literally pleading, to get the State of Israel out of the ongoing chaos. I come here with a lot of good will and I pledge to do everything I can to rescue Israel from the chaos and to establish a good and stable government for the State of Israel. It is time for national responsibility."
It is believed that Bennett agrees in principle to support the "pro-Netanyahu bloc" and form a government with it, but then there will be 59 seats for such a coalition and it will be required to be dependent on the Ra’am Party or try to bring defectors from the camp of Netanyahu's opponents.
Of note, the Netanyahu-Bennett meeting was held at the Prime Minister's Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem, and this is the first time in recent years that Bennett has been invited to the venue after years of an unofficial boycott by the Netanyahu family of Bennett and Ayelet Shaked.