Will they run together? Initial contacts for a political alliance between Naftali Bennett and Yoav Galant

December 18, 2024   

Initial contacts for a political alliance between Naftali Bennett and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant ahead of the next elections. According to a report this evening (Wednesday) by Ayala Hasson on 'Kan Hadesot', the two are trying to find a formula that will allow them to run together. The talks are taking place after Galant admitted that his path in the Likud has reached a dead end, while Bennett is working hard behind the scenes to formulate an accurate list, keeping his cards close to his chest and not placing anyone on his future list for the time being. Galant's response was: "The announcement is false and devoid of any basis. Former Defense Minister, MK Yoav Galant, is a member of the Likud movement and will continue to be so. Galant has not spoken to Bennett or met him since they served in the same government many years ago. Galant has no intention of joining him or collaborating with him politically." He wrote on his Twitter account: "Ayala Hasson's announcement is false and devoid of any basis - I am a member of the Likud movement and I will continue to be so. I have not spoken or met with Naftali Bennett since we served in the same government many years ago, and I have no intention of joining him." Bennett's statement said: "I do not rule out the possibility, but I am not dealing with it now." Last month, news broke that Bennett held a secret meeting with Shlomo Filber and MK Matan Kahane. The three discussed Bennett's return to politics and the possibility of appealing to right-wing voters - after forming a government with the Ra'am party, while breaking all the promises he made to his voters. Shlomo Filber, one of the owners of the 'Direct Falls' polling institute, said this evening on 'Gale Israel' radio: "In my polls, Bennett is receiving 13 seats. Most of them from the center-left bloc. I estimate that he will finish in single digits. His seats are fragile, it is a kind of momentary opportunity." Minister Amichai Shikli, who ran on Bennett's 'Yamina' list and abandoned him, told Yaakov Bardugo and Doron Cohen on 'Dali Yisrael' radio this evening: "In my eyes, Bennett does not represent an ideology. This is a person who was one day the CEO of the Yesha Council and the right-wing right wing, and the next day he associates as an iron fist with one of the leaders of the Kaplan protest and someone who is responsible for posters that constitute unprecedented and serious violent incitement against a prime minister. "This is an opportunistic figure devoid of moral backbone, a person who is completely fake from head to toe. This is not a person who can take votes from the national camp.".