Liberman and Eisenkot Reportedly Held First Post-Election Meeting

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman and Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot met on Saturday, October 31, in their first meeting since the election, according to reports disclosed on November 1. The talks concerned coordination between their parties as efforts to form the next government continue. They also examined the feasibility of establishing a government. Their discussions included parliamentary cooperation in the incoming Knesset, particularly the effort to replace its speaker. Before this encounter, Eisenkot had held several meetings with Together leader Naftali Bennett and the Democrats leader Yair Golan. Liberman had not taken part in those meetings. The reported Saturday encounter brought him into direct discussions with Eisenkot after those separate contacts among the other leaders. The meeting followed reports on October 28 that Liberman was not answering calls from Bennett and Eisenkot. Those earlier reports described him as waiting rather than committing to their initiatives, while ruling out joining Benjamin Netanyahu or forming a government supported by Arab parties. The new meeting is a separate development from that earlier account of unanswered calls. A first joint forum involving Liberman, Eisenkot, Bennett and Golan is expected in the coming days. Separately, Liberman is due to brief journalists on Monday, November 2. No fixed date for the four leaders' forum was specified in the meeting reports.