A fresh wave of news reports on a “warming up” of negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog on forming a broad government greeted Israelis Oct. 4, after the end of the Jewish New Year holiday. It is the umpteenth round of talk on the subject — including in Al-Monitor — but the lead actors show no sign of tiring. Netanyahu and Herzog deny the new reports, but no one in the Israeli political and media establishments takes them too seriously.
The current leaks on contacts — which were upgraded last week during the course of the funeral for Shimon Peres, the ninth president of Israel — were initiated by Likud ministers opposed to the move, which would entail political steps in its wake. Their goal: to thwart the move and embarrass the two partners, who would be forced to deny the leaks and would also face intense public and media criticism as a result.