Eisenkot accuses Likud of trying to influence the formation of the government and speaks of Netanyahu's pressure

Eisenkot said: "The contacts included prominent politicians from the party of Yishar Almog Cohen, Yoav Kisch, Yaakov Bardugo and others," adding that Likud figures are contacting members of his party following the election results, "in an attempt to influence them regarding the formation of the government."

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Eisenkot continued, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party: "The entire public sees the extent of the pressure you are under because of the defeat," noting his party's commitment to implementing the will of the voters and forming "a Zionist government that works for all Israelis."

The contacts come at a time when Eisenkot is trying to coordinate his moves with the leaders of the anti-Netanyahu camp. On Saturday, he met with opposition leader Yair Lapid, after meeting on Thursday with the head of the "Together" party, Naftali Bennett, to discuss ways to form a government as quickly as possible.

Eisenkot said  that he would work in coordination with his political partners to translate the election results into political change, end what he described as the culture of “lies and division” led by Netanyahu, and form a “Zionist and official” government that enjoys broad consensus.

According to  Eisenkot means a broad coalition of parties that recognize “Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and adhere to the values ​​of the Declaration of Independence and the imposition of military or national service on everyone,” in contrast to the current coalition led by Netanyahu, which includes religious and hard-right parties.

According to Eisenkot’s stated positions, these conditions exclude the Arab and Haredi parties from participating in the government, as he refuses to include the former in his coalition, while he requires the latter to agree to the recruitment of its followers, which the Haredi parties oppose.

The importance of these positions is highlighted in light of the election results, which gave Eisenkot’s camp 48 seats, compared to 53 for Netanyahu’s camp, while the Arab parties obtained 19 seats, out of 120 seats in the Knesset.

Netanyahu’s Likud party won 27 seats, compared to 21 for Eisenkot’s Yishar party, opening the door for consultations between the parties regarding the formation of a new government coalition.

These results mean that Eisenkot’s camp cannot form a government on its own, while the seats of the Arab parties, if an agreement is reached with them, would give it the possibility of exceeding the majority threshold of 61 seats.

However, his refusal to include Arab and Haredi parties leaves him with limited options, including attracting members of parliament from Netanyahu’s camp, forming a minority government with external support from Arab parties, or reaching political understandings that require backtracking on some of his election promises.

It is worth noting that Eisenkot announced during his election campaign his refusal to form a government with the participation of Arab and Haredi parties, stressing that he seeks a government based on a majority of Zionist parties that adopt the four principles he specified.