
Speaking on Radio 103FM on Sunday morning, outgoing Housing & Construction Minister Zeev Elkin (National Unity) discussed the ongoing coalition negotiations, which seem to have stalled with at least two potential coalition partners, Religious Zionism and United Torah Judaism (UTJ).
A coalition agreement with Otzma Yehudit was formulated at the end of last week, meanwhile, and another agreement with the Shas party appears likely by the end of the day.
"Netanyahu is being held hostage by his partners," asserted Elkin. "Up until just a few years ago he was afraid of being photographed together with Ben-Gvir, and today, who's running the country? Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
"Netanyahu needs his partners for critical support and he can't say no to them," Elkin continued, adding that, "I estimate that the new government will last maybe two years, perhaps even three."
The outgoing government in which Elkin played a role as a member of the New Hope party lasted just over a year and was frequently accused of being held hostage by the four members of the Ra'am party, the United Arab List, without whom it would not have held a majority in the Knesset. Just a fortnight ago it was revealed that the predominantly Arab Joint List party, which did not join the outgoing government, nonetheless provided it with a safety net on several occasions during the period when Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett served as prime minister.