Lieberman's hard-line maneuvering jeopardizes Eisenkot's path to Israel's premiership
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Potential coalition partner Avigdor Lieberman is once again using exclusionary demands and political brinkmanship, undermining Gadi Eisenkot's chances of assembling a government after Israel's October 27 election.
Gadi Eisenkot's chances of forming a government after Israel's October 27 election are being dragged down by the hard-line posture of Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beitenu party. A meeting between Eisenkot's Yashar! party and Lieberman on November 1 ended without any commitment from Lieberman to back Eisenkot for prime minister, with Lieberman instead pressing for lawmaker Oded Forer to become Knesset Speaker.
That speaker fight has quickly become a parliamentary trap, as Arab parties are expected to oppose Forer, while any move to reject him could cost Lieberman his leverage over support for an alternative candidate. Netanyahu's Likud party has warned that removing the current speaker, Amir Ohana, would kill any prospect of a unity government with Eisenkot, a warning Eisenkot's camp has brushed aside, insisting that talks with Netanyahu remain off the table.
Lieberman also drew rigid red lines, saying he will not join a coalition that includes Arab factions, ultra-Orthodox parties, or the left-wing Democrats led by Yair Golan. In a post on X, he said, "As you know, with me, a word is a word, and everything I said before the elections remains valid after them as well. We will not sit with Bibi or with Tibi, not with Golan or with Deri. Not with Yasser Hujeirat and not with the rest of the terror supporters."
Lieberman added that only a coalition of Zionist parties, including Likud without Netanyahu, would be acceptable. Reports also indicate that President Isaac Herzog has floated a deal in which Netanyahu would serve as prime minister for two years before stepping down and receiving a pardon for his corruption trial, though it remains unclear whether Lieberman would accept such a politically cynical arrangement.
President Herzog is set to meet party leaders from November 4, after which he will assign the mandate to form a government to the lawmaker most likely to succeed. The appointed leader will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble a coalition; failure could trigger a second mandate or new elections within 90 days. Netanyahu would remain caretaker prime minister during this period, giving him additional time in office regardless of coalition outcomes.