Hendel Says He Will Not Give Netanyahu a 61-Seat Majority

Yoaz Hendel said after joining forces with Hili Tropper that he would not complete a narrow 61-seat coalition for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The former minister said Israel needs a Zionist government that does not depend on current Haredi or Arab parties, which he described as non-Zionist, while saying he would join a broad 70-80 seat Zionist unity government if Netanyahu, Bennett and Eisenkot were all part of it. Hendel argued that draft-evasion legislation and Basic Law: Torah Study would, in his view, dishonor Torah by burdening the many Torah scholars and reservists who serve and fight. He said another election would be preferable to that course.