Israeli PM Netanyahu calls on rivals to join him

April 1, 2021 KT1 US 0

FILE - In this Wednesday, March. 24, 2021 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after the first exit poll results for the Israeli parliamentary elections at his Likud party's headquarters in Jerusalem. After a hard-fought election, an Arab Islamist, Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, also known by the Hebrew name Ra'am, could choose Israel’s next prime minister. Tuesday’s elections have left a razor-thin margin between a right-wing coalition led by Netanyahu and a diverse array of parties bent on ousting him. Each side needs the support of Ra'am. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, `file)

FILE – In this Wednesday, March. 24, 2021 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waved to his supporters after the first exit poll results for the Israeli parliamentary elections at his Likud party’s headquarters in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, file)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:50 PM PT – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on his rivals to join him to finally build a coalition government.

Reports on Wednesday said Israel’s president is set to meet with party leaders before deciding which party will be mandated with forming the next government.

Netanyahu’s Likud party is the largest with 30 seats, but they don’t have the 61 seats needed to form a coalition. Altogether his opponents secured 57 seats, also coming short.

The heads of two other parties haven’t declared who they will support yet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a cabinet meeting at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“I say, let’s put the personal feelings in the past, let’s build a stable right-wing government which will hold on for years,” Netanyahu stated. “The state of Israel and its future – this is what truly matters.”

The president called on the party leaders to form alliances, citing the citizens’ call for unconventional alliances, cooperation between sectors and professionalism.