Netanyahu: Likud Won't Form Coalition With Zionist Camp

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the Likud would not sit in a coalition with the Zionist Camp - the joint list of Isaac Herzog's Labor and Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah, following the March 17 Knesset elections.

"The Labor Party has chosen a radically left and anti-Zionist list," the prime minister said in a statement. "There is a yawning gap between Labor and the Likud."

Netanyahu quoted several statements, supposedly made by Labor personalities, as the reason why "there can be no meeting between the responsible, nationalist views of the Likud under my leadership and the radical leftist list of Tzipi and Bougie."

The statements included, "Israeli women need not sent their children to the army," "Hatikvah is a racist song," "My Palestinian identity is stronger than my Israeli" and "I don't connect with the concept of Zionism."

The Zionist Camp campaign responded: "The Likud is unable to hold primaries and its candidates can't work with each other for even a day, so it's no surprise that they also failed in governing the country. Just as they are unable to count votes they don’t take the Israeli public into account.

"Our team knows how to lead a government that will work together in making decisions and promoting the issues that are of greatest importance to the citizens of Israel."