Prime Minister and Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu is inclined to give up on the possibility of forming a joint list with the Jewish Home party. 

Channel 10 News reported that a recent legal examination into the requirements of such a unity deal found that the process would not be applicable at this time. 

As Labor-Hatnua has begun to tip above Likud in the polls, many Likud officials have called for a consolidation of the Right bloc, in fear of a government led by Labor Chairman Yitzhak Herzog. 

A recent Walla! News poll found that if Likud and Jewish Home ran together, they would win 37 seats – 3 less than if they ran separately, but more than enough to defeat Labor-Hatnua and form a decisive coalition.   

However, through his examination into the issue, Netanyahu determined that implementing a joint list with Jewish Home would require the backing of an absolute majority of the Likud Central Committee. 

It is highly unlikely that he will be able to raise such support before the final deadline for presenting Knesset lists to the Central Elections Committee on January 31. 

Meanwhile, former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon announced Wednesday evening that he would not unite his Kulanu party with fellow centrist party Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid.

Reportedly, amid speculation of a unity deal and prior to his final announcement that his party was running alone, Kahlon attempted to assess Kulanu’s chances of entering the government if consolidated with Yesh Atid. 

However, after learning from haredi representatives that they would never sit in a government with Lapid, Kahlon distanced himself from the idea of a joint list.