Moshe Gafni, head of United Torah Judaism party on Sunday did not rule out a coalition with opposition leader Yair Lapid, and would not commit to recommending Binyamin Netanyahu to lead the next government after the March 23 election, though he said this was the most likely option.
Gafni, who recently replaced MK Yaakov Litzman as UTJ leader, said: “After the election results we’ll see what the options are.”
The coming election will be Israel’s fourth in two years. In the past rounds, UTJ vowed in advance to back Netanyahu. This time, Gafni said: “We’ll probably go with Netanyahu. If there’s no dramatic change we’ll probably recommend him.”
Asked what had changed since the previous national votes, Gafni said “there’s a difference, in society, in life here, the difficult reality we are in.”
He said he would only rule out one party as a coalition partner: Yisrael Beytenu and its leader Avigdor Liberman, who has in recent elections run on the ticket of a government free of Haredi influence.
Haredi parties have long reviled Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, which has also touted secularist policies. However, Gafni signaled UTJ may be less resolutely opposed to Lapid than before.
Asked if Lapid was a potential ally, Gafni demured. “Who knows? We’ll see. If his political platform changes we’ll discuss it.”
On Friday Lapid said police should be using water cannons to disperse illegal Haredi gatherings.
