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MK Haskel calls on right-wing figures to join new party for 'broad Zionist gov't' ahead of election

MK Sharren Haskel, leader of the Israel First Party, has launched a campaign urging right-wing figures to join her party in pursuit of a 'broad Zionist government.' Meanwhile, political analyst Avi Bushinsky suggests Prime Minister Netanyahu's main goal is to maintain a political deadlock to remain in power.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 14–21, 2026 Published Aug 14

MK Haskel Launches Campaign for Broad Zionist Government

MK Sharren Haskel, leader of the Israel First Party, has launched a campaign aimed at bringing right-wing figures into her party as part of an effort to form a “broad Zionist government.” In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Haskel said she would consider joining a government after the elections with parties from “both sides of the aisle.”

Haskel’s first appeal was directed at MK Yuli Edelstein, who recently announced he would be leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and is planning a new political path. The campaign is expected to extend in the coming days to other right-wing figures who are currently polling below the electoral threshold.

This move comes amid reports that former Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan has been considering forming a new right-wing party to compete with Likud.

Haskel said the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks bridged previous divides of “coalition versus opposition.” Quoting her, “‘Anyone but Bibi’ [Netanyahu] collapsed on October 7. Today's test is not personal. It is based on values.” She explained that a broad Zionist government would place “the state ahead of sectoral interests,” meaning “a partnership of everyone who believes in an equal sharing of the burden, security, and national responsibility.”

While her party would not boycott individuals, Haskel noted there would be “substantial red lines,” and that parties promoting draft evasion or anti-Zionist elements would remain outside such a coalition.

Political Analyst: Netanyahu Seeks to Preserve Deadlock

Political analyst Avi Bushinsky, a former adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu, said Netanyahu’s focus is on preventing the opposition bloc from reaching 61 seats in the upcoming election. Speaking to 103FM, Bushinsky said, “Netanyahu’s goal is one thing. If we ignore for a second Filber’s polls, in which Netanyahu gets something like 80 to 90 seats, depending on which day you wake up, then the goal is really to ensure a political tie in order to get to another election, or maybe reach ideal conditions, and then of course as long as there is a political tie you are the sitting prime minister and under the best conditions, namely a transitional government, then there is not even a Knesset on your back.”

Bushinsky expressed doubt about the viability of smaller parties, noting that when Benny Gantz and Dedi Simchi discussed joint leadership, they barely crossed the electoral threshold. He also highlighted broader challenges, saying, “There are more cardinal problems here. To come and say, ‘We will unite,’ ‘We will join,’ ‘We will do’ and ‘a broad national [front],’ there is a fundamental problem here in the State of Israel, the story of October 7, a state commission of inquiry, and so on, but right now there is something much bigger, which is where we are headed, and that is the issue of enlistment.”

He was skeptical about the impact of new centrist parties, stating, “I do not think that if by some miracle two or three MKs come together and form a centrist party, that will move the country. In my assessment, no such midstream party will be formed.”

Perspectives

MK Sharren Haskel (Israel First Party): Advocates for a broad Zionist government that includes parties from both sides of the aisle, emphasizing shared burden, security, and national responsibility, while setting red lines against draft evasion and anti-Zionist elements.
Avi Bushinsky (Political Analyst): Believes Netanyahu’s primary goal is to maintain a political tie to remain prime minister, and doubts the potential of smaller parties to make a significant impact in the upcoming elections.

How this outlet told it

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 14, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC

Framing: Netanyahu's strategy to prevent opposition bloc from reaching 61 seats — Analytical

Facts Included:

Aviv Bushinsky said Netanyahu's goal is to preserve a political deadlock
Bushinsky stated that smaller parties may not have room in the upcoming Knesset
Roy Kuncol addressed the formation of Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel's new party, Yesodot Yisrael
Kuncol saw no major breakthrough in the formation of the new party

Read the source article →

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

Framing: Haskel's campaign to form a broad Zionist government — Supportive

Facts Included:

Sharren Haskel launched a campaign to form a broad Zionist government
Haskel would consider joining a government with parties from both sides of the aisle
Haskel's party would not boycott individuals, but would have substantial red lines
Haskel called on right-wing figures to join her party

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimAviv Bushinsky said Netanyahu's goal is to preserve a political deadlock. Bushinsky stated that Netanyahu is focusing his efforts on preventing the opposition bloc from reaching 61 seats and unseating him in the coming election.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 14, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC
ClaimBushinsky stated that smaller parties may not have room in the upcoming Knesset. He noted that when Benny Gantz and Dedi Simchi talked about joint leadership, they could barely cross the electoral threshold.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 14, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC
ClaimRoy Kuncol addressed the formation of Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel's new party, Yesodot Yisrael, and said he saw no major breakthrough there.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 14, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC
ClaimSharren Haskel launched a campaign to form a broad Zionist government. She would consider joining a government with parties from both sides of the aisle.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC
ClaimHaskel's party would not boycott individuals, but would have substantial red lines. Parties that promote draft evasion or anti-Zionist elements will remain outside.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Jerusalem Post 5 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14