Under pressure from far-right, Netanyahu says he won’t form government with Gantz

Opposition chief Benjamin Netanyahu says at a campaign event that he won’t form a government together with National Camp party leader Benny Gantz, after speculation that he intends to do so has caused his Likud party to drop in opinion polls in favor of the far-right Religious Zionism party.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu refused to share a stage with Religious Zionism’s extremist No. 2, Itamar Ben Gvir, with the latter saying today that he was “offended” by the move.

At a campaign event in Dimona, Netanyahu says he intends to form a purely right-wing government that includes Likud, Religious Zionism and the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties.

“Gantz is left-wing, he wants a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, I won’t form a government with him,” he says. “I won’t give up Religious Zionism to receive some article in [left-wing daily] Haaretz.”

Netanyahu and Gantz previously formed a government together, with the Likud leader exploiting a loophole and refusing to pass a state budget to avoid handing his rival the premiership — ultimately causing Gantz’s party to quit the coalition.