Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies do not rule out joining forces with Israeli opposition

By Tarek Chouiref

ISTANBUL (AA) - Figures from two ultra-Orthodox parties allied with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled openness early Wednesday to cooperating with the opposition as exit polls left both rival blocs short of a parliamentary majority.

An unnamed official from the Shas party suggested that it could join a government led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot at a later stage, provided that it accepted the terms of a military conscription law, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

The official said Eisenkot should initially leave vacant the ministerial posts important to Shas, adding that the party might join later if a “reasonable” conscription law were introduced.

Separately, Yitzhak Goldknopf of the United Torah Judaism alliance declined to rule out cooperation with Eisenkot’s bloc.

Asked about that possibility in an interview with Kol Barama radio, Goldknopf said the matter would be put to senior religious authorities and that their decision would determine the party’s position, the Israeli news website Ynet reported.

Democrats party leader Yair Golan backed drawing on Arab parties’ support to secure a majority to replace Netanyahu.

“Every Knesset member elected through a democratic and lawful process is a legitimate part of our political system,” Golan said, according to Israel’s Haaretz daily.

He said that if a democratic majority existed to replace the government, the opposition should act on it.

The remarks came as a revised Channel 12 exit poll projected 52 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 49 for Eisenkot’s and 19 for Arab parties.

Updated exit polls from Israel’s public broadcaster and Channel 13 put the two main blocs level at 51 seats each, with 18 for Arab parties.

None of those projections gave either bloc the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee.