Liberman and Bennett Hold Secret Talks to Block Gadi Eizenkot's Path to Premiership

Behind the scenes of Israel's opposition leadership, a covert meeting took place about a month ago between Shalom Shlomo, a close confidant of Naftali Bennett, and Avigdor Liberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu. The private meeting occurred in a villa in Herzliya, away from public view and without the knowledge of Gadi Eizenkot, leader of the Yashar party. This revelation follows a strategic plan recently outlined by advisor Roni Klughaft, indicating that Bennett and Liberman are considering forming a joint technical bloc after the upcoming elections. The plan involves presenting themselves as a united front to the president and jointly recommending one of them to form the next government. This move aims to sideline Eizenkot, despite polls showing his party leading the opposition by a significant margin.

In recent weeks, both Bennett and Liberman have avoided committing in interviews to granting Eizenkot the mandate to form a government if he wins, reinforcing suspicions of their quiet coordination. In response to the report, Liberman's team confirmed the meeting but claimed it focused on discussing Ayelet Shaked, with no further contact since. However, political insiders express skepticism about this explanation, believing that Shaked was only a minor topic, while the main discussion centered on political coordination and joint strategy for the post-election period.