Lieberman to Recommend Eisenkot for PM, Lapid for Knesset Speaker
Translated & summarized from Channel 13 by baba
Avigdor Lieberman announced he will recommend Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister and not sit with Benjamin Netanyahu. President Yitzhak Herzog will begin consultations on forming a government Wednesday, starting with smaller factions. The chosen MK will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension. The schedule includes meetings with numerous parties over two days.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Avigdor Lieberman will recommend Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister and not sit with Benjamin Netanyahu.
- President Yitzhak Herzog begins government formation consultations Wednesday with smaller factions first.
- The chosen MK will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
- Lieberman blamed Eisenkot and his team for a "selfish" and unsuccessful campaign.
- Shas indicated it would support Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister.
- The consultation schedule spans two days, starting with smaller parties and ending with Likud.
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, announced Monday that he would recommend Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yesh party, for prime minister. Lieberman stated he would not sit with Benjamin Netanyahu, even if offered the premiership, and ruled out a minority government. He attributed the election results, which saw his party win fewer mandates than expected, to Eisenkot and his team, calling their campaign "selfish."
Meanwhile, a senior Shas official indicated the party would support Netanyahu. President Yitzhak Herzog is set to begin official consultations with all factions on Wednesday at 5:00 PM to assign the mandate for forming a government. In a departure from previous practice, Herzog will start with the smallest factions and proceed in ascending order of mandates, with the Religious Zionism-Identity faction being the first to present its recommendation.
The President's Residence stated the altered consultation order aims to facilitate a comprehensive review of political options and encourage "out-of-the-box" thinking before meetings with larger parties. Herzog seeks to hear all factions' positions to explore avenues for consensus, believing every path must be exhausted to advance the process. The Residence emphasized that the President does not rule out additional consultation rounds if necessary.
According to Basic Law: The Government, after the consultations and recommendations, the President will task a Knesset member with forming the government. The chosen MK will have 28 days to complete the task, with a possible 14-day extension granted by the President. The consultation schedule includes Religious Zionism-Identity, Shas, and Yisrael Beiteinu on Wednesday, followed by United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, Democrats, Ra'am, the Joint List, Bihiyon, Yesh, and Likud on Thursday.
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