Minister Amichai Eliyahu says that Otzma Yehudit is already working to bring about new elections, even as the Prime Minister continues to discuss the establishment of a unity government.
In an interview at the Arutz Sheva studio in the Knesset, Eliyahu expressed confidence that another round of elections would strengthen the right-wing camp and called on the haredi parties to refrain from joining a government with the opposing political bloc.
"First of all, I'm optimistic, optimistic and strong," Eliyahu said when asked whether his party was headed for the coalition or the opposition.
According to Eliyahu, the public expressed support in the elections for a right-wing government and the principles of the religious-nationalist camp.
"Our people chose a government based on faith, our people chose a right-wing government, our people chose the Land of Israel," he said.
He predicted that an attempt by the opposing political bloc to establish a government dependent on the Arab parties would fail. In this context, he also criticized MK Ahmad Tibi over his past statements concerning martyrs.
Eliyahu linked his call for new elections to his allegations of foreign interference in the elections, specifically mentioning Qatar.
During the interview, he was presented with the position that the alleged interference was under investigation but did not provide grounds for changing the election results.
Eliyahu countered by claiming that the Attorney General was preventing the police from properly investigating the affair, adding that, in his view, the elections had been rigged.
Meanwhile, the decision also rests with the haredi parties.
Eliyahu recalled Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's support for the Oslo Accords and claimed that the rabbi subsequently apologized for that support.
"I very much hope that the haredi parties will come to their senses and not make the mistake we saw with Oslo, which cost us so much blood," he said.
Asked about the possibility of joining a government with Avigdor Lieberman, Eliyahu replied that the Yisrael Beytenu chairman had chosen a political side in recent years and, in his view, was no longer part of the right.
Eliyahu further claimed that some within the haredi community were also troubled by the very discussion of joining a government with the opposing political bloc.
According to him, the haredi parties' considerations should include the government's political direction and its treatment of the haredi community and Torah scholars.
Asked about the possibility of a unity government being established without Otzma Yehudit, Eliyahu shifted the discussion to the decisions such a government might make.
He described it as a "national paralysis government" and warned against keeping the Attorney General in office and appointing judges who, in his view, would continue the approach of Supreme Court President Justice Yitzhak Amit.
"The public will hold those who advance such a move accountable at the ballot box," he said.
Eliyahu recalled that Otzma Yehudit had previously withdrawn from the coalition over the release of terrorists and said the party would continue advancing its positions regardless of whether it was in the coalition or the opposition.