Netanyahu Planned Coalition With Mansour Abbas, Shaked Reveals
Former minister Ayelet Shaked revealed in a Channel 13 interview that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously planned to form a government with Mansour Abbas.
With the upcoming Knesset elections just a week away, political disclosures continue to surface regarding past coalition maneuvers. In a recent interview on Channel 13 with journalist Omri Asenheim, former minister Ayelet Shaked revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once intended to form a government with the support of Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra'am party.
Shaked's Revelations on Past Coalition Talks
According to Shaked, Netanyahu pushed for the initiative when his bloc fell short of a majority. She recounted that Netanyahu urged Naftali Bennett to accept the move, arguing that Abbas was a serious and courageous leader with whom a viable coalition could be established. Shaked noted that right-wing media figures had also begun laying the groundwork to legitimize the cooperation, while she and Bennett were tasked with consulting religious Zionist rabbis to secure their approval.
"Netanyahu called Bennett and said, 'Listen, we are at 59 mandates, Gideon Sa'ar refuses to enter under any circumstances, and we have no choice, we must establish a government with Mansour Abbas'," Shaked disclosed during the interview.
Efforts Involving Gideon Sa'ar
Shaked added that she made extensive efforts to convince Gideon Sa'ar to join a right-wing government, holding numerous meetings with him in the Knesset. However, Sa'ar remained firm on his campaign pledge not to serve under Netanyahu. Shaked concluded that while Netanyahu's primary plan relied on Abbas, the initiative ultimately collapsed after Bezalel Smotrich strongly opposed the arrangement.
