United Torah Judaism chairman MK Moshe Gafni told Kol Barama radio on Sunday evening that he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and urge him to bring Gideon Sa'ar and Naftali Bennett into one government.
Gafni also said that he intends to meet with Yair Lapid in the coming days. "The meeting with Lapid will take place and I did not cancel it. I postponed for several days for technical reasons. I even met with him when he was Finance Minister. If [Avigdor] Liberman had asked to meet, I would not have agreed because the way he speaks disgusts me. I see a change in Lapid, but we will not go into a government with Lapid."
MK Gafni criticized the chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, MK Bezalel Smotrich, and claimed that he was the one who prevented the formation of a right-wing government.
"I'm very angry at Smotrich, anyone who voted for him and wears a kippah should do some soul searching. Had it not been for his conduct, we would now be talking about the distribution of ministerial portfolios in the government," said Gafni.
"Netanyahu was wrong when he campaigned for Smotrich in the haredi sector and ultimately took away one seat for UTJ and Shas. He harmed his own efforts to form a government under his leadership," Gafni claimed, adding, "Tomorrow I am expected to meet with Netanyahu - I expect him to make every effort so that Sa'ar and Bennett enter a right-wing government."