![Head of New Right party Naftali Bennett [L] and MK Ayelet Shaked [R] (photo credit: AVRAHAM SASSONI)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/443612 "Head of New Right party Naftali Bennett [L] and MK Ayelet Shaked [R]")
"Since the elections, Naftali and I worked tirelessly to try and form a right-wing government," Shaked wrote in a Facebook post. "Eventually, it was Netanyahu who failed to form a right-wing government," she noted, blaming New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman for objecting to such a government and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich for "his stubbornness."
חברים, כמה מילים ממני אליכם, בימים הסוערים הללו. מאז הבחירות עבדנו, נפתלי ואני, קשה מאוד כדי שתקום ממשלת ימין. קשה...
Posted by איילת שקד - Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday, 5 May 2021
Shaked, number two in Yamina, continued to defend Bennett, noting the long history the two politicians share.
"My path alongside Bennett has been a long one. We entered the public sphere together. I'm not sure there is any precedent to the trust that exists between us," she wrote.
"I want to make this clear: Naftali came to the negotiations table with Netanyahu with clean hands, an open heart and a deep desire... he turned every stone to try and make a right-wing government a reality – I saw it with my own eyes," Shaked stressed.
"I can understand the frustration and the anger, but I won't allow such wild accusations," she wrote, referring to both Netanyahu's attacks on Bennett and to those from within Yamina.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bennett suffered quite a setback when a little-known MK in his faction announced he would not support the formation of a unity government with left-wing parties.
MK Amichai Chikli, who was fifth on the list, wrote to Bennett that he could not back a government with left-wing parties, and blasted him for breaking promises to form a right-wing government, not to sit in a coalition with Meretz and not to rotate as prime minister with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.
On Tuesday night, Netanyahu's mandate to form a government expired, making it his third failed attempt in two years.
Now, with the mandate having been given to the Yesh Atid head by President Reuven Rivlin, Lapid and Bennett intend to engage in marathon talks to form a unity government beginning Thursday. Shaked concluded her supportive post by exerting confidence in Bennett's ability to overcome any challenge he may face toward forming a government. "I know Naftali well and believe in his honesty, in his great love for this nation and in his ability to transcend and overcome difficult situations," she concluded.