Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly told leaders of the religious Shas party that key secular parties refuse to sit with them or with other religious parties such as United Torah Judaism, creating near-certain odds that Netanyahu is likely form his next governing coalition in the absence of religious parties for the first time in recent memory.

Netanyahu’s Likud-Beitenu list captured more seats than any other political party, with 31 seats of the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. The third-place Labor Party wants to lead the opposition, and coalition math all but dictates that Netanyahu will partner with the second-place party, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, and the fourth-place party, Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party.

While continuing to raise the stakes in coalition negotiations, Lapid is already working to assure religious Israelis that their interests will be protected even if no religious parties are part of the government.

Former foreign minister Tzipi Livni and her six-seat centrist The Movement party were the first to join Netanyahu two weeks ago, and she is slated become justice minister. Together Netanyahu, Livni, Lapid, and Bennett bring 68 votes into the coalition. Netanyahu will likely ask Shaul Mofaz to bring his Kadima Party, and its two seats, into the coalition as well.

If such a coalition takes form would mark only the second time in the past few decades that both the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties will sit in the opposition benches in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset.

[Photo: Neil Lazarus / YouTube]