Dark days are upon us. It isn't clear whether Wednesday evening will bring with it a unity government, but it's safe to assume that Benjamin Netanyahu on one side and the Joint List on the other are doing everything in their power to stop such a scenario from unfolding.
The Likud leader's emergency rally of his political troops on Monday was just another low point for him.
Netanyahu is under the assumption that his continued incitement and condemnations of the Arab minority will birth some sort of "popular resistance", already blossoming to various degrees here and there.
Some have already proclaimed the conservative to be armed and ready in case their messiah comes under threat.
But these are the voices on the sidelines, not of the conservative mainstream. Yet they are none the less dangerous as these are the voices that can lead whole nations in civil war and destruction.
Is that your final goal, Mr. Netanyahu?
It's not as if the right in general, and Netanyahu in particular, don't have justified claims.
The corruption investigations against Netanyahu have been marked by political motivation, with several lawmakers within the Joint List consistently insisting on hurting Arab-Jewish relations.
But this never can justify Netanyahu's conduct.
His days as a moderate conservative are long gone. During the talks with then-U.S. president Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State John Kerry reached agreements that if were admitted by Netanyahu would have caused an earthquake.
Then he operated in a responsible and stately manner, and today he is becoming more and more extreme.
He even made a close ally of Moshe Feiglin - a man kicked out of the Likud party for fanaticism and who called slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin a "kapo leading us to our doom."
The prime minister also led an uncompromising struggle to bring into the political fold far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, a modern-day ambassador for Meir Kahane and his ultra-right movement.
His blind gallop towards "one state for all of its people" blurs the lines between him and the anti-Zionist camp, which wishes to do the same.
This is rather complicated, considering the members of the Joint List are going through a familiar process.
The party has made sporadic claims of their willingness to lend a hand in the march of reconciliation. But then came the latest flare-up in the Gaza Strip, showing the Joint List members' true faces; no longer is solidarity with the Palestinian Authority enough, their new allies are Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Not one word of condemnation or criticism against the arch-murderers in Gaza.
Not one comment damning the Gazan leadership's refusal of any international proposal deal, which would have lifted the blockade and brought financial investment into the enclave in exchange for disarmament.
Nothing was said about the rockets fired against innocent Israeli civilians.
Balad founder Azmi Bishara has long since left the Knesset, and is now directing his industry of hate from Qatar, but the lawmakers of Joint List - of which Balad is a part - still dance to his tune.
Most of Israel's Jews support peace, reconciliation and investment in the furtherment of equality among all.
But there will always be hateful bullies like Balad MK Heba Yazbak - who called Hezbollah terrorist Samir Kuntar "shahid" - and Ofer Cassif of Hadash, who called IDF soldiers on several occasions "murderers" - who wish to make clear their distaste for equality in the Jewish state.
They oppose the Jewish state, wanting only to keep the sedition and hate flowing.
Most of the Jews and Arabs in Israel don't affiliate with the Bishara or Kahane camps.
But Netanyahu gravitating towards the Kahane camp and the Joint List MKs similarly gravitating towards the Bishara camp – pulls everybody else to the extremes too.
Meanwhile, the blind devotees from both sides have joined in the fun.
While Hamas rockets strike at Israel, a far-left activist publishes a post on social media saying that, "The Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation, to kill and oppress *all* with any means."
This is no small fry, this is Orly Noy, a B'Tselem board member and number six on the Balad list.
Converts are always the most dangerous. Can you honestly form a coalition based on "outside support" with these types?
Taking down a Netanyahu ever-creeping towards Kahanism is a just cause. But building a foundation on Cassif and Yazbak is just preparing for trouble.
Blue and White, with its diverse opinions, is essentially a centrist Zionist party.
The traditionally right-wing voters who migrated to center bloc did so because of their aversion to Netanyahu's ever-growing extremism.
Cooperation with Bishara's disciples, even if on a temporary basis and outside of government, could propel those voters back to the right-wing bloc.
These should be an Arab minister in the Israeli government and true cooperation with this minority, but not with Bishara supporters.
These are the dog days of politics, for there is no good option, only less bad ones.
The lesser of all evils, despite everything, is a unity government with Likud and Blue and White, in accordance with President Reuven Rivlin's guidelines.
The most sane, Zionist and patriotic part of the political map is the Blue and White leadership.
Hesitations and reservations for such a move can be understood - but Israel cannot afford to head in any other direction.