Heavy pressure is being exerted on Blue and White MKs Tzvi Hauser and Yoaz Hendel by the party leadership to back the formation of a minority government with the external support of the Joint List of Arab parties. The two right-wing MKs vehemently oppose such a government and are adamant in their refusal to allow it. Sources in Blue and White told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that it was highly unlikely that either Hauser or Hendel would change their mind on this issue. On Monday, senior Blue and White MK Moshe Ya’alon reportedly demanded that Hendel and Hauser either support the minority government or resign from the Knesset, according to Channel 13 News. Sources in Blue and White told the Post that there was indeed a threat to demand that Hendel and Hauser quit if they do not back a minority government, as well as a threat to remove the two from the party list in the event there are fourth elections. Gantz however issued a statement saying “In Blue and White there can be a variety of opinions, but there is only one position and one decision – that of the chairman of the party. Not that of senior officials or associates.” A party can fire an MK from its ranks but that MK cannot be made to give up their seat in the Knesset, meaning that they can continue to serve as independents. It would be almost impossible for Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz to form a minority without the votes of Hauser and Hendel, given that the Balad Party, a constituent of the Joint List, is unlikely to vote in favor of it. The center-left bloc has 62 MKs including 15 from the Joint List of Arab Parties, but just 47 without it, while the right-wing bloc has 58 seats. In order to form a minority government, Blue and White is seeking at least 12 MKs from the Joint List to vote in favor of such a government in the Knesset without formally joining it. The party leadership repeatedly said during the election campaign that this is something it would not do, something which Hendel and Hauser have underlined during their conversations with the Blue and White leadership on the minority government issue. Hauser and Hendel are known for their right-wing positions and have consistently ruled out relying on the votes of the Arab parties to form a minority government. Both MKs are insisting that Blue and White seek a unity government with the Likud, pointing out that the party’s commitment on the issue of a minority government during the election campaign. Hendel does not view Netanyahu continuing to serve as prime minister as a positive situation but believes that a unity government with some form of rotation agreement between Gantz and Netanyahu as a necessary “emergency” measure given the depths of the current political crisis.
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