The leaders of the New Hope and Yamina intend to merge their parties, Israel Hayom reported.
According to the report, the merge does not have political significance, and is more of a statement. In the merge, MK Naftali Bennett, who chairs Yamina, will be prime minister, heading a party with 13 seats, instead of one with just seven.
In addition, difficulties were reported in the negotiations between Bennett and the "bloc for change," with the most prominent obstacle being the issue of equal power in the coalition. This is making it difficult for Bennett and MK Yair Lapid, who chairs Yesh Atid, to decide exactly how to divide the positions so that Lapid's 45 seats of supporters and Bennett and Sa'ar's 13 seats of supporters have equal power.
Due to concerns that the new coalition will not be able to function and make decisions, Bennett has requested that the prime minister be allowed the power of veto, a step which will allow him to make a final decision. The sides are having difficulty coming to an agreement on this matter.
Equal power is required because when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) signed their coalition agreement after the March 2020 elections, they legislated that both sides of the coalition must have equal strength. Until the law is repealed, it continues to apply to the next coalition as well.