Feiglin Open to Eisenkot as PM for Defense Portfolio

Moshe Feiglin, ranked second on the Religious Zionism-Zeut list for the Knesset, indicated during negotiations with Yaron Zelekha's Economic Party that he would support Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister, provided he received the defense minister portfolio. These discussions, which took place in August, were part of an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to merge Feiglin's Zeut party with Zelekha's.

According to sources present, Feiglin stated he "would not rule out Eisenkot as prime minister, say, in exchange for the defense portfolio." Zelekha reportedly welcomed this openness, as it kept options for various government coalitions viable. However, the merger talks collapsed shortly thereafter for unrelated reasons.

Feiglin later signed a technical agreement with Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, securing the second spot on their joint list. This agreement, however, includes a clause obligating both parties to support Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister.

The Zeut party confirmed that the possibility of an Eisenkot-led government was discussed with Zelekha, but characterized it as a hypothetical scenario explored to define negotiation boundaries. They explained that one scenario involved a broad government including the Likud, where Feiglin would serve as defense minister, and in which he would not oppose a rotation agreement for Eisenkot to serve as prime minister for part of the term.

Zeut claimed Zelekha ended the negotiations after calling Feiglin "too right-wing," citing Feiglin's stances on Arab civil unrest and security risks in hospitals. The party also accused Zelekha of secretly recording their discussions and selectively leaking information to harm Feiglin, calling his actions "disappointing to say the least." The Economic Party declined to comment on the negotiations with Feiglin.