Lieberman Rules Out Support for Minority Government, Closes Door on Eisenkot's Plan

Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, announced Thursday that he will not support any minority government, effectively blocking a potential plan by Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yesh Atid, should the "change bloc" fail to secure 61 mandates. Lieberman stated, "We will not support any minority government, not even a minority government for a transition period." In a post on X, he clarified that he would form a coalition composed solely of "Zionist parties," excluding Ra'am, Hadash-Ta'al, Shas, and United Torah Judaism. He also suggested that "the Likud without Netanyahu could be a significant partner."

Lieberman's remarks come amid growing disagreements within the change bloc. While Eisenkot had hoped for established rules regarding the bloc's prime ministerial candidate, Lieberman and Bennett opposed this, and the bloc's leaders decided at a meeting in Lapid's home to address the issue only after the elections. Yesh Atid has launched a new campaign aiming to grow its mandate, even at the expense of other parties in the change bloc, emphasizing the importance of being the largest party to receive the mandate to form a government.

Eisenkot's contingency plan, revealed in late July, was to form a majority government by setting strict prerequisites if the change bloc fell short of 61 seats. A key condition was a universal draft or national service law for all. His plan also stipulated no negotiations with Arab or Haredi parties regarding abstentions or support without meeting these prerequisites. Eisenkot committed to ensuring no Arab or Haredi representative could claim to have been consulted or asked to influence a vote. The strategy aimed to present Arab Knesset members with a public dilemma, forcing them to explain to their constituents if their opposition would result in Itamar Ben-Gvir remaining in government and Netanyahu in office.