Speaking to Reshet Bet Radio on Thursday, 11 Iyar, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked stated that she is confident that following the “Netanyahu era, Naftali Bennett will be the Prime Minister of Israel”.

Ayelet Shaked is already looking past the tenure of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and is confident Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett will be the next Prime Minister of Israel, predicting this will occur as soon as 2019, the next scheduled Knesset elections.

“Bennett would be a superb Foreign Minister, a superb Defense Minister and in the future, a superb Prime Minister” stated Shaked. She added that the decision to give the defense portfolio to such a small party does not represent equality and despite the lack of symmetry, Bayit Yehudi is not planning to ask for any additional cabinet portfolios or appointments despite speculation to the contrary.

She praised party leader Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who she credits with implementing a revolution in mathematics and she emphasizes the significance of this for the State of Israel. She also cited a number of his other accomplishments including the second classroom assistant for larger classes.

When asked if she will be willing to give her post to Yariv Levine of Likud as many believe will occur if Lieberman enters the coalition, Shaked stated “Yariv and I are good friends and I will continue working here. We are investing a great deal in the office and are implanting major reforms and we are planning to continue”.

Regarding Lieberman and the entry of his party into the coalition, she stated she was not involved in the negotiations but is confident Lieberman had to compromise on some of his demands for if not, he would not be able to enter the coalition. “The Prime Minister decided to give him the Defense Ministry and the story ends with this”.

“If we had a government of 67 that was truly right-wing we could accomplish a great deal of good things for the State of Israel as per the coalition guidelines. We are a cohesive government that works together”, she stated, then concluding with a reference to construction throughout Yehuda and Shomron, “We think it is necessary to expand the construction for today it is insufficient but this depends on the Prime Minister”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)