Yashar! Chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman held an unannounced, closed-door meeting on Saturday night to coordinate their positions as the “change bloc” grapples with the complexities of assembling an alternative government, according to a report by political correspondent Ishay Cohen.
In contrast to previous encounters between the two leaders—which were accompanied by coordinated media statements and joint photographs—both sides chose to keep the meeting confidential, issuing no official press releases or public briefings afterward. The quiet summit follows a bruising election cycle marked by fierce personal and political exchanges between Eisenkot and Liberman, as both fought to capture leadership of the broader opposition camp. While the two held a publicized reconciliation meeting days before the vote to project stability to voters, fundamental ideological and strategic rifts remain unresolved. At the heart of the current deadlock is the role of Arab factions in forming an alternative coalition.
While strategists in the center-left camp have been analyzing models for a minority government supported from the outside by the Arab parties—who control a combined 19 seats between Ra’am and the Joint List—Liberman has reiterated in recent days that he will not be party to any government that leans on Arab factions, whether directly within the coalition or indirectly via external confidence votes. Compounding the policy divide is the question of who should lead the bloc. Throughout the campaign and in its immediate aftermath, party leaders failed to agree on a single candidate for the premiership.
Eisenkot, whose Yashar! faction secured 21 mandates to become the second-largest slate in the Knesset, views himself as the clear leader of the opposition. Liberman, whose faction secured seven seats, has argued that past precedents allow smaller parties to demand primary roles, including claims to the first turn in a rotational premiership.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively signaling his intention to return the mandate to the electorate through repeat elections, the meeting between Eisenkot and Liberman highlights the pressure on the opposition to resolve its internal gridlock before President Isaac Herzog opens official consultations.