Liberman and Eisenkot Expected to Meet Monday; Bennett Meeting Set for Tonight

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot are expected to meet on Monday, November 9, as talks between their parties continue. Eisenkot is separately expected to meet Together chairman Naftali Bennett on Sunday evening, November 8. The planned meetings were reported on Sunday afternoon. The Monday meeting between Liberman and Eisenkot was arranged several days earlier. Negotiating teams from their two parties met on Friday, November 6, ahead of the expected meeting between the leaders. Liberman has repeatedly opposed forming a minority government that depends on Arab parties, a position relevant to the efforts to assemble parliamentary support for a government. The discussions follow President Isaac Herzog’s consultations with all factions elected to the 26th Knesset. In a statement on November 5, his office said factions representing 67 lawmakers had recommended Eisenkot, while factions representing 46 had recommended Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog said that mutual vetoes between and within the blocs had left the ability to form a government unclear. In that November 5 statement, Herzog said: “I intend to task a member of Knesset with forming the government this coming Sunday.” He also said he planned direct personal conversations with some party leaders to clarify their positions. The statement described his plans at the close of those consultations.