i24 News – Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly discussed setting up an alternative government with the opposition Likud party on Thursday.
A possible deal was discussed during a meeting with political advisers in Tel Aviv, according to the Kan channel. As Bennett’s governing coalition lost its majority in the 120-seat parliament in April, talks about an alternative government – which could be set up without holding new elections – intensified in recent weeks.
To form an alternative government, Bennett would need to assemble a majority.
The Prime Minister’s Yamina party denied reports about negotiations on the matter with right-wing Likud party head and opposition leader Bibi Netanyahu.
In the meantime, Likud officials were said to be trying to contact Yamina lawmaker Nir Orbach in an attempt to convince him to join the opposition, according to Walla! News.
Bennett’s former ally, who recently froze his membership in the coalition until a contentious West Bank bill passed, reportedly did not respond to Likud’s calls.
Earlier on Wednesday, sources in the Likud party predicted that Bennett’s coalition would soon end, expecting that Orbach would join the opposition in the vote to dissolve the current government. The renegade lawmaker was reportedly offered the 19th slot on the Likud list and aimed at becoming a minister in a Likud-led government.
