Head of Yisrael Beytenu Avigdor Lieberman is declaring that the next government will be formed without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking at the Maariv Business conference in Herzliya on Wednesday, Lieberman discussed the political impasse that has led to Israel's third general election in under a year and possible ways of solving it.
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"We want a liberal, secular coalition and I think it's extremely likely. Everyone is sick of Netanyahu. All the Likud faction members are sick of him. If there were a secret vote, he would only get six seats. We will only join a national unity government," Lieberman said.
According to the Yisrael Beytenu leader, Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz would win a combined 65 seats.
"I told them both they should form a unity government, but they preferred to argue about who would serve first and who would serve second [in a rotation for prime minister], which is how we got dragged into another election. Next time, I'm making no commitments. I'm always transparent and try to say from the get-go what my commitments are.
"There is no more unity government. It's clear that with the two of them, we can't build anything. So we are preparing ourselves, and are ready for the day after. We will have 61 seats without Netanyahu and [haredi MKs] Deri and Litzman."
Lieberman said he was being asked why he ruled out joining a coalition with the Joint Arab List.
"There is one reason – it is a list comprised of supporters of terrorism. Let's discuss the facts and then everyone can draw their own conclusions. The facts are clear – not a single member of the Joint Arab List attended Shimon Peres' funeral, but that same week they visited the grave of [late PLO leader Yasser] Arafat in Ramallah," he said.
Lieberman continued: "The Joint Arab List condemned the US for the targeted attack on arch-murderer Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who murdered more people than any person in the 21st century. Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh personally condemned the Arab League for putting Hezbollah on a list of terrorist organizations."
When asked if he wanted to resume his former position as defense minister in the next government, Lieberman answered, "I want to establish public transportation on Shabbat and funding for an independent school system. I want clear basic policies. As far as being prime minister … it was an option, never an obsession, for me. With God's help, let's get rid of Deri, Litzman, and Gafni, and build a government without Netanyahu. Everything else will come later."
