Machane Tzioni party leader Yitzchak Herzog was already probing to see if there was an entrance into the coalition as the coalition crisis between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett threatened to topple the coalition. Bennett on Sunday announced he is ready to move to the opposition if need be, determined to remain steadfast in his demand to appoint a military cabinet secretary over the objections of PM Netanyahu.

Herzog, who heads the opposition, has a party with 24 seats and even if he splits off and brings a portion with him, he would be welcomed by PM Netanyahu. However, peace-making efforts spearheaded by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman during the night brought an end to the coalition crisis, closing the door on Herzog once again.

As a result of Litzman’s efforts both PM Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett accepted the deal to end the crisis. This led to Mr. Netanyahu convening a special cabinet meeting to approve the deal and clear the way to bring Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party into the coalition.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)