Why the agreement was so important to Netanyahu

This morning, I realized why the agreement was so important to Netanyahu.

As Netanyahu’s campaigners and strategists predicted, the apparent slight advantage of the right-wing bloc depended, among other things, on the prime minister’s agreement with Zehut.

It’s quite possible that if Zehut had run to the end in the current elections, in the political situation that had been created, it would likely have been very difficult to pass the threshold.

This would have meant that about three seats would have gone down the drain, the Likud would now lag behind Blue & White, and the president would certainly have given Benny Gantz the job of putting together a government.

The most significant actions Netanyahu took to preserve his chances of forming a government – even if it has to be a unity government – were the agreements with Kulanu and with Zehut.