Tzomet party drops out of Knesset race, leaving 29

The Tzomet party dropped out of the March 2nd on Sunday after reaching a deal with the Likud to endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party.

By GIL HOFFMAN, MAARIV ONLINE
THE BALLOT slips from the last elections are seen this week at the Israel Central Election Committee Logistics Center in Shoham. (photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
THE BALLOT slips from the last elections are seen this week at the Israel Central Election Committee Logistics Center in Shoham.
(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
The Tzomet party dropped out of the March 2 on Sunday after reaching a deal with the Likud to endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party. 
Tzomet, which was part of Netanyahu government from 1996 to 1999 under the leadership of former IDF Chief of Staff Rafi Eitan, has long held an agricultural, nationalist and secularist ideology, specifically focusing on the needs of farmers.
It was headed by former Likud MK Oren Hazan in the April 2019 elections, and in September, under the leadership of Moshe Gerin, won 16,000 votes. In return for dropping out of the race, the Likud promised Green a series of steps to help farmers.
Some of the proposals include a freeze of the Draft Planning and Construction Law (Kaminitz Law) that restricts the construction of illegal structures, and the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to examine solutions to issues raised by taxi drivers and commuters, according to a report by Maariv.