Liberman Says He Is Open to a Conscription Compromise to Form a Government

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said Friday morning that he was prepared to compromise on conscription legislation as part of efforts to form a government replacing Benjamin Netanyahu. He urged parties seeking a change of government to reconsider their strategy after the election and accept that building a coalition would require difficult concessions. Liberman explicitly included the conscription law among the issues open to compromise. “That includes the issue of the conscription law,” he said. He acknowledged that concessions would be painful for him and others, but said the national interest should guide the negotiations. His statement did not set out an agreed legislative text or announce a coalition agreement. He outlined three conditions: ending Netanyahu’s tenure, avoiding another election and refusing a government dependent on abstentions by Ra’am and the Joint List. He said Yisrael Beytenu would vote against a government reliant on those parties, and called for maximum effort to assemble a coalition supported by 61 MKs without them. Liberman predicted that three or four Likud lawmakers could join after such a government was formed. That was his assessment of a possible subsequent development, rather than an announcement that lawmakers had agreed to defect. He also denied discussing a rotating premiership with anyone and opposed rotation in principle. Whoever succeeded in forming the government, he argued, should receive full authority for its entire term.