Arab-backed minority government gains ground

The chances of the formation of a minority government led by Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz and backed from outside by the Joint List increased significantly on Thursday, when Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman joined an effort to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.At a closed-door meeting of his faction, he endorsed Gantz’s efforts to pass a law that would prevent an indicted MK from forming a government. Liberman’s endorsement gave the bill a majority, with the support of all 62 MKs who are not in Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc. Liberman said he would also back a term limit for prime ministers.“We will not let Netanyahu go to a fourth election,” Liberman was quoted as saying. “Our goal is to form a government as soon as possible and send Netanyahu to retirement.”Netanyahu responded on Twitter, asking Liberman: “Are you just a liar who cannot be trusted, or do you have hidden motives?”In the tweet, Netanyahu included a collection of clips of Liberman saying he would oppose the bill and that Netanyahu could in fact function as prime minister under indictment.Liberman responded by asking Netanyahu the same question, attaching an article about Netanyahu voting in favor of a bill in 2008 that would automatically topple an indicted prime minister.Netanyahu released a video in which he accused Gantz and Liberman of trying to steal Monday’s election, which he said he won in a knockout. He compared Gantz and Liberman to the leaders of Turkey and Iran.“There is a lot that [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan can learn from them,” Netanyahu said. “Even Iran does not behave this way. There, they cancel candidates before an election, not after.”The Likud called upon Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit on Thursday to investigate Liberman’s role in a past scandal in Yisrael Beytenu that led to the convictions of party officials. Yisrael Beytenu’s official response was seven laughing emojis.The leaders of the parties in Netanyahu’s bloc vowed in a meeting on Wednesday to remain united and insist that only Netanyahu form the next government. Yisrael Beytenu officials hinted that the party would likely recommend to President Reuven Rivlin next week that Gantz form the government. Blue and White MKs, including hawkish MK Moshe Ya’alon, expressed willingness to form a minority government, at least at first.A Panels Research poll taken for Maariv checked the public’s view of the possible scenarios for ending the political stalemate. The poll found that 61% of Likud voters and 49% of Blue and White voters prefer a national unity government with a rotation in the Prime Minister’s Office.A minority government has the support of 79% of Labor-Gesher-Meretz voters and 59% of voters of the Joint List.The only party whose supporters prefer a fourth election is United Torah Judaism, with 67%. A fourth election is supported least by voters of Labor-Gesher-Meretz, Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu.The poll of 529 respondents representing a statistical sample of the Israeli adult population was taken on Wednesday.