Likud MK and former coalition whip David Bitan confirmed on Thursday reports suggesting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be willing to partner with political rival Blue and White leader Benny Gantz after the Sep. 17 election.
Bitan said that a deal could be made with Gantz on the condition that his faction, Israel Resilience, breaks away from the Blue and White party, which is co-chaired by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.
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Blue and White won 35 Knesset seats in April's election. Recent polls suggest that the faction and Likud will once again tie in September.
"We have no problem to go [along] with Gantz – but without Lapid," Bitan told Israel Radio.
Ahead of April's election, Blue and White said it would be willing to join a Likud-led coalition as long as the ruling party replaced Netanyahu as chairman. Going into September's elections, Lapid has been boisterous about this demand, while Gantz has, for the most part, remained mum.
Still, responding to Bitan's remarks, Blue and White party officials dismissed the idea as unfeasible, saying that the party was preparing for a post-Netanyahu era in Israel.
"Likud MKs are even holding talks with the intention of forming a government without Netanyahu," a Blue and White insider said.
"In any case, Netanyahu will meet the same response he received when he approached us before dragging the country into the current election campaign – a negative answer."
Also on Thursday, Blue and White decided to step up its efforts to curry favor with Israel Arab voters.
The party has reportedly invested hundreds of thousands of shekels in a sector-specific campaign, and all four of the party's leaders – Gantz, Lapid, Moshe Ya'alon and Gabi Ashkenazi – have been giving interviews on local Arab TV channels and websites.
Still, while Gantz did not dismiss the notion of inviting the Joint Arab List to join his coalition, Ya'alon states that the party is "ready to bring on board all those who agree with Blue and White's core values."
Ya'alon, a former IDF chief of staff and defense minister did, however, break from the party line regarding peace talks with the Palestinians, telling one media outlet that, at this point, he saw little chance for striking a viable peace deal.
"The problem is on the Palestinian side, not the Israeli side. The gaps between us are huge but the Palestinians don't even have leadership that recognizes Jews' right to live in a democratic Jewish state."
According to Blue and White insiders, the party believes it could potentially win as many as three mandates from the Arab electorate.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
