From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Unsourced news report: Likud offers Yamina 7 reserved spots in party if it agrees to back Netanyahu
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The Likud has extended a lavish offer to Yamina in order to try and convince Naftali Bennett’s party to recommend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be tapped with forming the next government, according to an unsourced Channel 12 report.
The offer includes seven spots on Likud’s list for all seven Yamina lawmakers — meaning Yamina would effectively be dissolved into Likud. This is something that Bennett and his No. 2 Ayelet Shaked have long wanted, but that Netanyahu’s wife Sara has reportedly blocked for years due to her personal loathing of the two lawmakers.
The reserved spots would be promised for two straight Knesset sessions during which Yamina lawmakers would be promised senior positions in the governments that are formed, according to Channel 12.
The deal also offers Yamina 20,000 members in the Likud Central Committee. It was not immediately clear how Netanyahu could make such a promise because Yamina does not have nearly that many supporters.
The Times of Israel Community.