Ashkenzi: Netanyahu lacks support to form the next government
Blue and White member says September 17 election as well as the one held in April were superfluous and part of PM's efforts to avoid prosecution in the corruption cases pending against him
Former military chief of staff and a candidate for Knesset with Blue and White says his party will lead the next government since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be able to form a coalition.
Gabi Ashkenazi believes his party can cooperate with the ultra-Orthodox parties as well and suggests they are not in Netanyahu's pocket.
Benjamin Netanyahu's last government was a hard-right a religious coalition.
There was broad expectation that the same parties would form the government after April's elections but since Netanyahu failed to form a 61-seat coalition (out of 120 seats) due to the defection of former defense minister Avigdor Liberman, the certainty of the "natural alliance" between Likud and the ultra-Orthodox may be challenged.
"We are talking to the ultra-Orthodox parties" he told Ynet "everyone understands Netanyahu does not have a bloc needed to form a government"
Ashkenazi claims the snap elections and the one held in April were all superfluous and orchestrated as part of Netanyahu's efforts to avoid prosecution in the corruption cases pending against him and thinks his party can sit together with Likud in one government without Netanyahu.
"We agree with Likud on 75% of the issues. That is enough to codify goals and objectives".
He added that he hoped more parties will join in and that the challenges Israel is facing need a wide unity government.
Ashkenazi, who commanded the military's Golani brigade and is still admired by its many members and alumni is believed to have had a role in the Blue and White Party's success in the April elections.
He commanded over a three-week military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza and believes the Likud government's policy on Hamas and the Gaza strip is wrong.
"We will not hand out cash when incendiary balloons are flying" he says. "deterrence must be re-instated but the total waste of the achievements of the last Gaza campaign by Netanyahu has resulted in the difficult situation currently on the border".
"We must work to solve the humanitarian crisis has no territorial claim or political interest in Gaza. We must see the return of our fallen soldiers (missing and believed dead after the 2014 war) and insist on long-term calm.
"We have no problem with Qatari money going into the Strip to build a water desalinization plant, provide electric power and improve the standard of living. This is in our interest.
