Just days after the effort to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through a "change coalition" comprising some of his right-wing rivals collapsed, there are new developments over the Likud leader's efforts to assemble a new coalition and swear in his sixth government based on the very parties that tried to topple him, including through a reported offer to have a power-sharing agreement with former Likud renegade MK Gideon Sa'ar.
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Sources at Sa'ar's New Hope party dismissed reports that it was in talks with Likud on a possible rotating premiership agreement between Netanyahu and Sa'ar, despite some Israeli outlets reporting such negotiations.
But Sa'ar's faction, which has vowed not to sit in any Netanyahu government because of his alleged misconduct and ongoing corruption trial, was not that adamant this time about such a scenario. "We have no talks and there is no offer on the table right now," a source said. "New Hope has laid out its positions clearly since the March 23 election and has repeatedly said it would support a right-wing government headed by someone who is not Netanyahu. If the circumstances change in the future in a way that would require updates to the public, we will make things known publicly."
Sources close to Netanyahu also denied the report, saying he was not engaged in politics because of the ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip. "Sa'ar has missed the boat," one Netanyahu associate said, referring to the option of a power-sharing agreement. "When he was confident that a change coalition would be formed, he was unwilling to talk about any such arrangement with Netanyahu, but now that it is clear that no such government would be formed and with his likelihood of New Hope being wiped out in another Knesset election, it's very doubtful that Netanyahu would even consider such a proposal. It's safe to assume that no rotating premiership deal will ever be finalized. So if he wants to enter a Netanyahu government, he is more than welcome.
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