Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon has expressed his belief that if Likud chief MK Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc does win 61 Knesset seats, he will ask Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who chairs the National Unity party, to balance out his government.
In an interview with 103 FM Radio, Ramon said, "Netanyahu is very close to 61; if nothing unusual happens, he will get there."
"I will be surprised if that does not happen, and then Netanyahu will call to Gantz to balance out the government. If Netanyahu has 59 [seats], Gantz will be prime minister in rotation.
"There is no other alternative," he emphasized. "I don't think that there will be a sixth round."
On Friday morning, Construction and Housing Minister Ze'ev Elkin (National Unity) said that the moment Netanyahu's bloc does not have 61 Knesset seats, it will fall apart.
"If he does have 61 [seats], he will form a crazy government the likes of which the State of Israel never had. He will be a complete hostage of all his partners, who will receive everything from him."
On Thursday night, Gantz promised, "I will not sit down with Netanyahu under any scenario and I will not hold negotiations with him. I expect from Lapid and the rest of the heads of the coalition parties to commit that they will behave in the same way and will not conduct direct or indirect negotiations through friends and businessmen with Netanyahu."
Netanyahu, for his part, promised the same day, "I am going to form a national government - Likud, Religious Zionism, Shas and United Torah Judaism. Gantz is a leftist, he wants a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, I will not form a government with him. I will not give up on Religious Zionism in order to get some article in Haaretz. We will form only a right-wing government."