Former Minister Yoaz Hendel, who announced a political alliance this week with MK Chili Tropper under the temporary name "Yesodot Yisrael" (Foundations of Israel), declares that he will not agree to provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the seats needed to secure a 61-seat majority.
However, he clarified that he would be willing to join a broad unity government backed by a Zionist majority of 70 to 80 seats.
In an interview with Yediot Aharonot, Hendel stated that the next government must be formed without parties he defines as non-Zionist, explicitly ruling out a partnership with the harediparties in their current framework. Hendel argued that advancing a draft-exemption bill and maintaining political reliance on these parties harms national security and undermines efforts to strengthen the IDF.
Hendel further noted that he is not boycotting Netanyahu personally, but rather opposes the continued formation of narrow governments reliant on the same political partnerships. If the alternative is a government that advances a draft-exemption bill, he remarked, "then obviously, another round of elections is preferable."
Referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Hendel labeled him a failure when it comes to governance.
"The more he talks about governance, the less of it there actually is," Hendel said, adding that the support of Ben Gvir and Minister Bezalel Smotrich for the draft law during wartime directly contradicts the urgent need to reinforce the IDF and ensure the military has sufficient personnel.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)