Hendel, Zelekha Claim Winter Sought Surplus Deal, He Denies
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha claim Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party sought a surplus agreement but refused their condition of joining only a Zionist coalition. Winter's party denied the approach, calling it a "false spin." The deadline for these agreements, which help parties maximize Knesset seats, is today. Many parties have signed deals, while others, including "Otzma Yehudit" and "Blue and White," have not.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha claim Ofer Winter sought a surplus agreement but refused their condition of joining only a Zionist coalition.
- Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party denied the claims, calling them a "delusional and false spin."
- The deadline for parties to sign surplus agreements, crucial for maximizing Knesset seats, is today.
- Numerous parties, including Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism, have already signed surplus agreements.
- Parties like "Otzma Yehudit" and "Blue and White" have not yet signed surplus agreements.
- Surplus agreements are a mechanism to prevent wasted votes and help parties secure more Knesset seats.
With the deadline for surplus agreements looming, Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha of the "Reservists-Economic" party claim they were approached by Ofer Winter of the "Am Israel" party to sign such a deal. They stated they offered Winter a surplus agreement in exchange for his commitment to join only a Zionist coalition, but he allegedly refused. Hendel and Zelekha added that they would not risk their voters' support going to the "Haredi bloc of Netanyahu" if Winter did not commit to a Zionist government.
"Am Israel" vehemently denied these claims, calling them a "delusional and false spin of old politics." The party accused Hendel and Zelekha, who they noted have switched parties multiple times and formed a government with Mansour Abbas, of lecturing new political figures. They asserted that Hendel and Zelekha would form a government with Abbas again.
The deadline for parties to sign surplus agreements, which allow them to pool remaining votes to secure Knesset seats, is today. Many parties have already signed deals, including "Yachad" with "Yisrael Beiteinu," "Yashar" with "The Democrats," the Joint List with "Ra'am," Likud with the Religious Zionism party, and the Haredi parties "Shas" and "United Torah Judaism."
Parties that have not yet signed include "Otzma Yehudit," "Am Israel," and "Blue and White." Itamar Ben-Gvir's "Otzma Yehudit" has stated it will not sign with Hendel and Zelekha's party. Yosef Haddad, second in command at "Am Israel," urged Ben-Gvir to sign a surplus agreement to avoid endangering the right-wing bloc.
Surplus agreements are a mechanism established in 1973 to prevent wasted votes after the initial seat allocation based on the Bader-Ofer method. Parties sign these agreements to maximize their chances of gaining seats, with the larger party in the agreement often benefiting, though smaller parties can also gain seats, as Meretz did in 2021 through an agreement with the Labor party.
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