Update: Liberman Says He Will Recommend Eisenkot for Prime Minister and Back Lapid for Knesset Speaker
The Yisrael Beytenu leader broke his silence but rejected a minority government backed by Arab parties, as President Herzog's consultations begin Wednesday.
Learn more ›MODI'IN, Israel —
Avigdor Liberman, head of the opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, said at a party meeting in Modi'in that he will recommend Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister and back Yair Lapid for Knesset speaker, All Israel News reported Nov. 2. The announcement followed reports that Liberman had refused to meet Eisenkot, who leads the Change Bloc.
Learn more ›Liberman said he would not sit in a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, even under a rotation deal with himself going first. “Even if the world turns upside down, I will not sit with Netanyahu,” he said. He also rejected any minority government backed by Arab parties.
He did not put forward Oded Forer of his own party for speaker, calling Lapid more experienced and better suited to replace the current speaker, Amir Ohana. Lapid led the opposition in the previous Knesset and is No. 2 in B'Yachad.
Learn more ›Liberman faulted Eisenkot for the bloc's showing in the Oct. 27 election. He estimated the debate over a minority government cost the bloc seven to eight seats in the last 10 days of the campaign. Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats, down from 64, and the opposition holds 48, which Liberman said was “far fewer than we had anticipated.”
He said the best outcome would be a coalition of Zionist parties that includes Likud without Netanyahu, and called new elections “a very bad option.” President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with the parties on Wednesday, Nov. 4, starting with the smaller factions.
Learn more ›What we don't know yet: Whether any path can produce a majority, and whom Herzog will ask to form a government.
