MK Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) emphasized to the Maariv newspaper that the chance he will join a Netanyahu-led coalition is low.
"There were reports that made it seem like I don't rule out partnering with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," he said. "So let's be more precise. I don't believe a word of what Netanyahu says and I don't rely on him for anything. I am not against him personally and there is no personal vengeance and I'm not doing this because of any historic accounts."
"I said that I am not willing to sit in any coalition with the haredim and messianics such as [Shas leader Aryeh] Deri, [United Torah Judaism's MK Moshe] Gafni, and [Religious Zionism chief Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich.
"If Netanyahu fires them all, then from my perspective he can be part of a coalition. But the chance that the Messiah will come is greater than the chance that I will join Netanyahu."
Earlier this month, Liberman said that his party would join a Netanyahu-led government, so long as it did not include "haredim" or "messianics." Liberman calls Religious Zionists, especially those who are stringently Orthodox, "messianics."
However, last week Liberman clarified that, "There is no chance that we will be part of a Netanyahu coalition. The sky will fall on the earth before that happens."