JERUSALEM (The Thursday Times) — Avigdor Liberman said on Monday his Yisrael Beytenu party would recommend Gadi Eisenkot to form Israel’s next government and back Yair Lapid for Knesset speaker, but ruled out both a unity government with Benjamin Netanyahu and a minority government relying on Arab parties.
The announcement ended days of speculation ahead of consultations at President Isaac Herzog’s residence, expected to begin on Wednesday. It follows Naftali Bennett’s endorsement of Eisenkot on Sunday, and the Democrats party said shortly afterwards that it would recommend him too.
Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, the opposition bloc 48 and Arab parties a record 19, leaving no side with the 61 needed for a majority. Liberman, whose party holds seven seats, said a minority government would “survive less than a year” and bring Netanyahu back with 70 seats.
‘Maybe we’ll get defectors from Likud’
Asked how a government could be formed without the Arab parties, he pointed to Netanyahu’s own party. “Maybe we’ll get defectors from Likud,” he said. “We’ll wait; we have patience. We need to take command of the Knesset. It’s critical to first replace the speaker.”
He appeared to soften his line on the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, saying he would “have no problem” with anyone who accepted his principles and a law to conscript the ultra-Orthodox. He said he would not serve under Netanyahu under any circumstances, even in a rotation deal that made him prime minister first, and called another election “the worst possible option”.
His backing came with criticism of Eisenkot. “We failed – 48 mandates is far lower than what we expected,” Liberman said, accusing him of an “egotistical” campaign that put becoming the largest party ahead of building the largest bloc.
