“Prioritizing candidates for coalition-building negotiations will give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the chance to end the negotiating process quickly. And, given that within his own party the prime minister is not going to have to have it easy when the time comes to divvy up ministerial portfolios, the faster he determines the framework for these negotiations, the faster negotiations will advance — whether it is Habayit Hayehudi or Shas which comes on board.

Sources close to Netanyahu have confirmed that the crisis between Habayit Hayehudi head Naftali Bennett and the prime minister’s family tarnished relations between the two. Netanyahu has vowed, however, to conduct negotiations in a businesslike fashion. But, if this is so, why did the issue with Bennett ever see the light of day?

Shas is rushing full-speed towards the government. This is clear not only because party leader Aryeh Deri called on Netanyahu during the election to reach a coalition agreement as quickly as possible, but also in the way the party is behaving now. How would Shas react if Likud, Yesh Atid and Habayit Hayehudi agree to legislation that would mandate drafting haredim into the military, regardless of the timetable for implementing the law? Shas understands how old politics work: applying brakes to the legislative process through foot-dragging and deferrals.”

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