Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 22, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Likud denies it is seeking to bring Gantz or Lapid into coalition
Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel
Yair Lapid (L), Benny Gantz (C) and Benjamin Netanyahu (R) (Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party denies that it is exploring the possibility of adding centrist parties to its hardline right-wing government, just an hour after Netanyahu complied with court order to fire Shas leader Aryeh Deri from his cabinet.
“The reports that Netanyahu will contact Gantz or Lapid to join the government are an invention that never happened,” a statement from the Likud party reads, denying that National Unity’s Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid are being sought for an alliance.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu established a right-wing government [to last] for four years — and so it will be,” the statement adds.
