Israel Beiteinu Blames Coalition Partners for Election Losses

Following the 2026 elections, tensions are escalating within the "Change Bloc" coalition, with Yisrael Beiteinu expressing significant anger towards its partners. Sources within the party accuse Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the 'Yashar' party, and Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats, of alienating an estimated seven to eight mandates that have since returned to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman has not yet spoken with any of the bloc's leaders since the polls closed and does not intend to until the final results, including double-envelope ballots, are confirmed.

According to a report by Maariv, Yisrael Beiteinu is sharply criticizing the bloc leaders' strategy in the crucial final weeks of the election campaign. "Eisenkot's campaign was extremely selfish and severely harmed the entire Change Bloc," party sources explained. They cited an example where, the day before the election, Lieberman met with many Likud voters intending to vote for Yisrael Beiteinu. However, these voters stated they were unwilling to accept Eisenkot as prime minister. The sources claim that discussions about forming a minority government drove away many voters who had already switched allegiance, sending them directly back to Netanyahu's bloc.

Yisrael Beiteinu is also pointing a finger at Yair Golan, alleging that his repeated statements about forming a coalition reliant on Arab parties significantly bolstered the Likud and Netanyahu in the final days before the vote. In total, Yisrael Beiteinu estimates that Eisenkot, Golan, and Naftali Bennett caused approximately seven and a half mandates to return to Netanyahu's bloc, primarily the Likud, in the ten days leading up to the election. "We saw day after day how another mandate and another mandate returned because of their inexperience, lack of understanding, and yes, the hubris of Gadi and his people," a senior Yisrael Beiteinu official attacked.