Eisenkot and Likud meet – with impossible conditions
The negotiating teams of Yashar and Likud are expected to meet for the first time in the second week of Eisenkot's mandate. Eisenkot demands to form a government under his leadership and without Ben Gvir, while Likud insists that Netanyahu be first in rotation. The gaps remain significant.
The negotiating teams of the Yashar party led by Gadi Eisenkot and Likud are expected to meet today (Sunday) for the first time, as he enters the second week of the mandate to form the government. The meeting comes after days of mutual accusations and the cancellation of a previous discussion. Eisenkot demands to establish a government under his leadership and without Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and to be first in the rotation for prime minister. On the other hand, Likud insists that Netanyahu be the first prime minister as head of the largest party in the Knesset, and comes to the negotiations without boycotts but without the Arab parties. Yesterday, Eisenkot added a demand that Likud and Religious Zionism support the candidacy of Matan Kahana for the position of Knesset Speaker, as a gesture of goodwill. Likud perceives this demand as an attempt to set a new precondition. Political analysts assess that the meeting will be primarily exploratory, and the gaps on the central issues – the identity of the prime minister, the composition of the government, and the rotation issue – remain large.