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Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls for instant polls on Sunday, saying elections would now be "useless and wrong", pending what he called last resort talks to maintain its coalition.
Netanyahu's right-wing coalition was put in crisis on Wednesday after the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman from a controversial ceasefire deal in Gaza, which led to speculation about the inevitable early elections.
After the withdrawal of Lieberman and his party Yisrael Beitenu, Netanyahu's government is allowed to hang on to a majority of a seat on a 120-seat parliament.
The main partners of the coalition say that it is impracticable.
Netanyahu, who tried to delay the election call, pleaded his case early in a cabinet meeting Sunday.
"In times of security, it's not necessary and bad to go to elections," Netanyahu said.
He mentioned cases where right-wing governments had called elections that did not go according to plan.
"We must do everything in our power to avoid such mistakes," he said.
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, whose center-right party, Kulanu, holds 10 seats on Sunday at 6:30 pm (4:30 pm GMT) for what he called a "last-ditch attempt" to keep the government going. together.
Elections are not due until November 2019.
Kahlon said that he did not think it was possible to continue with the existing coalition.
"If (Netanyahu) pulls a rabbit out of his hat, we'll see," Kahlon told Israeli television on Saturday. "In the meantime, I do not see rabbits or hats."
Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party, which holds eight seats in parliament, has called for the defense portfolio as a way to keep the government united.
Netanyahu says he will take control at least temporarily rather than entrusting the key ministry to one of his main right-wing rivals, though a last minute deal can not be ruled out.
On Saturday, Bennett told Israeli television that Lieberman had "collapsed the government."
"There is no more government and we are moving towards elections," he said. "There is no other alternative."
– "Insane to keep up" –
Bennett refused to comment on the journalists when he entered the cabinet meeting Sunday, but Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of his party, the Jewish home, said in a statement that make him the Minister of Defense was "the only justification" for keeping the government in place.
Netanyahu met with Bennett on Friday, but conflicting discussions emerged from their discussions.
A source close to Bennett said the two had agreed that it "would be foolish to continue" with the same coalition.
"They will set a date for the elections when they meet the (other) coalition partners on Sunday," the source said.
In a few minutes, a statement from Netanyahu's Likud said that it was wrong.
"The Prime Minister told Minister Bennett that the rumors that a decision was made to go to the elections were not correct," he added.
The crisis was triggered by Lieberman's resignation following the ceasefire that ended the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war.
Lieberman called the truce a "capitulation to terrorism" and criticized Netanyahu's recent decision to allow Qatar to send millions of dollars of aid to the stranded Palestinian enclave.
Israeli residents of southern communities hit by rocket fire from Gaza last week have also staged protests calling for aggressive action against Hamas, with whom Israel has waged three wars since 2008.
A poll released after the ceasefire revealed that 74 percent of those surveyed were unhappy with the way Netanyahu handled the escalation with Gaza and its Islamist leaders, Hamas, but it also showed that his party would easily win the most seats.
It has long been speculated that the Prime Minister could call elections before November 2019, particularly when the police have recommended accusations against him in two corruption cases.
The Attorney General is expected to announce in the coming months a decision on the advisability of laying charges against him.
Some analysts believe that he would be better placed to fight them with a new electoral mandate.
But Netanyahu would like to take such a step at the most advantageous time – without attracting public attention to the ceasefire in Gaza.
