Likud MK Warns Netanyahu May Form Government Without Far-Right

Member of Knesset Tally Gottlieb of the Likud party expressed dramatic concerns on Thursday regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential post-election government plans. In an interview with Tal Meir, Gottlieb claimed that Netanyahu might prefer to form a broad coalition government that includes Benny Gantz's National Unity party, specifically mentioning Gadi Eisenkot, over relying on the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Gottlieb pointed to the slogan "a broad national government" used before the Likud primaries as an early indicator of this possibility. She stated, "I said, here you go, we already understand what's going to happen here," adding with regret, "The Prime Minister might sit with Eisenkot."

Furthermore, Gottlieb cited recent "disseminations" from the Prime Minister's office as reinforcing her fears. She asserted that Netanyahu does not wish to sit with Ben-Gvir or Otzma Yehudit. Gottlieb suggested that the way to prevent such an outcome is for Otzma Yehudit to achieve a significantly stronger electoral result, ideally a "high double-digit" number of seats, which would leave Netanyahu with no choice but to rely on their support.

The interview comes after a reported reconciliation meeting between Gottlieb and Netanyahu, yet she has renewed her criticism of the Prime Minister. The article also references previous reports about Gottlieb's comments on events within the Likud party.