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Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, April 5, 2021
New Hope refrains from endorsing candidate for PM
Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party endorses no one for prime minister.
New Hope MK Yifat Shasha-Biton says the right-wing party backs a rotational premiership between Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, but says their inability to reach an agreement on the matter has prompted the party to abstain.
She urges President Reuven Rivlin to invite both Lapid and Bennett to work out an agreement, after which New Hope would back one of them.
The abstention means Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely pick up the most nominations, unless the Joint List and Ra’am endorse Lapid. Netanyahu currently has 52 backers, Yair Lapid has 45, and Yamina’s Bennett has seven.
