HAREDIS MAY NOT BE IN COALITION

The Likud's hinted that if, in the end, they can't form a government without Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid, they will be willing to leave the Haredis out:

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails in forming a government and finds himself with no choice but to give in to demands of Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, would prefer Yesh Atid and Habayit Hayehudi as members of his coalition over the religious parties, a senior source from Likud-Beiteinu said over the weekend.

While Netanyahu may have said at the start of negotiations that he has no intention of excluding the haredim from the coalition, if political complications continue – and regardless of whether the haredim sign a coalition agreement – they might find themselves left out.

"If Netanyahu feels he is backed into a corner and may lose the chance to form a government, he won't think twice about leaving the haredim out of the coalition," the source said. [...]

Sources in Likud-Beiteinu criticized the decision of the prime minister to favor the haredim from the start.

They claim that Netanyahu "originally wanted to leave Bennett out due to personal considerations, plus, he was sure Lapid was in his pocket – so he quickly devoted himself to the haredim.

"The public wanted a certain government in these elections, and Netanyahu wants to force it to accept a government from the past."

They say politics make strange bedfellows, and it sure is strange why he'd want to continue with Shas, which was disrespectful of him for many years, and even now. After 2-3 betrayals, I think he'd do well to let them go, which would teach them a lesson about leading such a socialist platform. Likewise, United Torah Judaism also needs to learn a lesson due to their opposition to army service. He'd be doing everyone a favor by making clear already that the despicable behavior of the Haredi parties cannot go unchallenged, and it could help his party's chances too, since they're not looking so good at the moment.