JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with opposition leader Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union, according to an Israeli news report.
The meeting took place a few days ago, Ayala Hasson of Channel 1 reported Monday. No official coalition talks have been held between Netanyahu’s rightist Likud party and the center-left Zionist Union.
Netanyahu told a senior Likud official in recent days that he has not ruled out forming a unity government, Haaretz reported, without naming the official.
Channel 1 reported that Netanyahu and Herzog met several days ago without telling close aides. Likud and Zionist Union denied that such a meeting took place.
It is believed that a unity government would signal to the United States and Europe that Israel is serious about a peace agreement with the Palestinians and would blunt Palestinian moves to bring Israel to the International Criminal Court.
