Will Likud form a government with United Arab List? Likkud Is falling Short of 61 Seats with 87% Votes Counted

 

With the Likud and its allies falling short of the 61 seats necessary for a Knesset majority, some in the party are calling for the Likud to open coalition negotiations with the United Arab List (Ra’am) to secure their support for the formation of a new Netanyahu-led government.

But that plan has divided the Likud and sparked a fierce public debate between Likud lawmakers.

MK Shlomo Karhi, who is staunchly opposed to relying on the UAL’s support to form a government, on Wednesday blasted Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, after HaNegbi called to open talks with the UAL’s chief, MK Mansour Abbas.

“We are prepared to enter into negotiations with Mansour Abbas, even if he is in the Opposition,” HaNegbi told Channel 12 Wednesday morning. “Why shouldn’t it happen? Let him [Abbas] vote for [our government], we have no problem with that. He won’t be a part of our coalition or government.”

Karhi responded on Twitter, writing: “No way, absolutely not.”

When HaNegbi was later asked to respond to Karhi’s tweet, the minister mocked Karhi, saying, “Remind me who that is? I’ll Google his name later.”

Karhi fired back, saying: “In my opinion it is better to be looked up on Google as an unknown person, then to be looked up on Google and to be embarrassed.”

“As a person who lives on the Gaza frontier, I can say that HaNegbi has also been unaware of people living in the Gaza area, like when missiles were fired at us, and he said that it doesn’t matter so much to him, since it wasn’t Tel Aviv. Who knows if Tzachi HaNegbi didn’t stay in the Likud to work as a mole for Gideon Sa’ar, and now wants to form a government with a terrorist supporter.”

“What will happen when they launch missiles at us and we need Abbas’ permission to fight in Gaza? He’ll throw us in the garbage! He’s a person who does not belong in a right-wing government. I don’t understand this, it’s a total embarrassment.”

The current vote count shows the Likud and its potential allies on the Right winning 59 seats, including seven for the Yamina faction. The United Arab List is projected to win five seats, and has hinted it may be prepared to support a Likud-led government from outside of the coalition.

“We’re in no one’s pocket,” said MK Abbas. “We’re prepared to negotiate with anyone.”

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