Post-Election Statements by Parties

In his comments after the polls closed in Israel, Rabbi Yaakov Litzman of UTJ stated, “We have undergone a ugly campaign where we were denigrated, but we have added tens of thousands of new ballots. As far as the exit poll results, at the end when the true results come in, the situation will change.”

“Whether there is a national unity government or not, I will not sit in a government together with Lapid.”

Rabbi Moshe Gafni of UTJ said, “We will go with Netanyahu, since he is the representative of the right. I would suggest not to go with Liberman, because today he can say he will blow up the Aswan Dam, and tomorrow he will go with the left.”

Avigdor Liberman, head of Yisrael Bateinu, announced that there is only one option: A broad based coalition of Yisrael Bateinu, Likud and Blue and White.

“No persuasion for ministries or offers of rotation [will convince us to join Likud]. We must take unusual steps due to the emergency situation. I will suggest to the president that he should not wait for official results, but should on an unofficial basis invite Netanyahu and Ganz to an informal conference already on Friday afternoon.

Blue and White reported that they have set a committee for the coalition negotiations. This committee will be headed by Dr. Yoram Turbovitz.

The total percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots was 69.4%, an increase of 1.5% over the last election.