Reports that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is considering a rotation agreement for prime minister with Yamina leader Naftali Bennett was denied by his spokesperson late Motzei Shabbos.

Yisrael Hayom reported on Friday that the prime minister’s associates were considering a rotation agreement as well as considering holding Likud primaries to elect a replacement for Netanyahu to form a government.

However, Netanyahu’s spokesperson denied both possibilities.

Even with Yamina’s seven members, Netanyahu will still only have 59 mandates, two short of a majority. The problem would be solved if Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party would join the coalition but Sa’ar who made not sitting with Netanyahu one of his key campaign promises refuses to do so.

The coalition could potentially be supported by the Islamic Raa’m Party but Betzael Smotich, chairman of the religious Zionism party, refuses to join a coalition backed by an Arab party despite heavy pressure from members of the other right-wing parties.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)