Herzog: Rumors on Coalition Deal ‘Ruined My Rosh Hashanah’

Speaking to Army Radio Wednesday, Zionist Camp head Yitzchak Herzog reiterated what he told Channel Ten on Tuesday night – that there have been no secret talks going on with the Likud to bring his party into the government. “I was sitting in shul on the chag when people started coming up to me asking about this,” he said. “It ruined my Rosh Hashanah.”

In the latest of a long series of rumors about whether “he will or he won’t,” Herzog – along with the Likud – denied the latest iteration of a story of an agreement between the two parties to bring Zionist Camp into the coalition. Channel Ten reported that there had been “substantial progress” between the two parties, and that a coalition agreement was “close.” According to the report, Zionist Camp would receive eight portfolios, including the Foreign Ministry, which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu still holds and is thought to be holding for Herzog, should be join the government.

But Herzog denied the story. “There have been no meetings and we have not made any deals,” he told Channel Ten Tuesday night. “This is all spin designed to wreck Zionist Camp and sow dissent among our ranks. If there is a concrete proposal I will bring party members together and discuss it. There is no need to turn this into a circus.”

In the Army Radio interview, Herzog said that “our job is to be in the opposition and to replace the current government if possible. However, we would be willing to consider an opportunity to bring about a major, historic change from within the government. If such a proposition is made, I will present it to party members, out of a sense of national responsibility.”

A Likud source told Army Radio that “this is an old story. Somebody says something and someone hears it and starts a rumor, and then it ends up in headlines, and then everyone denies it. There is nothing new here.”