Opposition Leaders to Meet, Coordinate Strategy After Public Spat

Leaders of the "Change Bloc" (Gush HaShinui) are scheduled to convene this coming Saturday evening at the Tel Aviv home of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid to coordinate their political moves. The meeting was announced Tuesday following a public dispute among bloc members last week.

The announcement stated, "For your information, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid will host the leaders of the Change Bloc - Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan - this coming Saturday evening for a discussion on coordinating the bloc's actions. The meeting will take place at Lapid's home in Tel Aviv."

The planned gathering comes after a sharp exchange that began with an interview by Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Gadi Eisenkot on Reshet Bet radio. Eisenkot strongly criticized Bennett and Lieberman for not establishing criteria to select a mutually agreed-upon candidate from the bloc for prime minister, arguing this harms the bloc's chances of winning the upcoming elections. He also criticized the previous "Change Bloc" government, in which Naftali Bennett served as prime minister with only six Knesset seats, stating that Lapid, who led the bloc with 17 seats at the time, should have been prime minister.

In response to Eisenkot's remarks, Lieberman quipped that Eisenkot should clarify who his partners would be after the elections.