The leader of Israel Beitenu, Avigdor Liberman, has reiterated that he is willing to sit down and negotiate with the ultra-Orthodox formations in order to facilitate the creation of a new Executive and to avoid a new date with the ballot boxes. However, he has stressed that any agreement will have to be aligned with his principles and red lines, especially on issues of security and military service. These statements come after, this Monday, he made public his support for the opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot.
"Willingness to reach a compromise does not mean giving up values and principles," Liberman has said, who has firmly ruled out supporting a Government backed by Raam and the Joint List, two Arab-Israeli parties.
In this vein, he has taken aim at those within the political spectrum who prefer an alliance with these forces, whose spokespeople, he has denounced, have defended positions favorable to Hamás and have accused Israel of genocide and crimes against humanity.
"I will not give my hand to form a Government like that," he has warned, while arguing that a coalition of this type would put national security at risk and could pave the way for the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to return to power.
Consensus to close the "Netanyahu phase"
Liberman has admitted that the current balance of forces in the Knesset makes it necessary to make difficult decisions and to explore understanding formulas to end the Netanyahu phase without having to call new elections. In this context, he has again defended a regulation that would set compulsory military service for the entire population, although he has shown openness to reviewing previous proposals that would allow positions to be brought closer with other potential partners.
The leader of Israel Beitenu has also underscored his commitment to improving the conditions of reservists and professional soldiers. He recalled that, when he held the Finance portfolio, he pushed through a 50% increase in the salary of soldiers who carry out compulsory military service.
"Being prime minister: an option, not an obsession"
On another matter, Liberman has rejected that his political strategy responds to a personal desire to reach the head of government at all costs. "Being prime minister is an option, not an obsession," he emphasized.
As he has explained, his movements are guided exclusively by "the good of the State of Israel and the people of Israel". He has assured that, since 2019, he has received multiple offers to join in different political combinations, but that he has never been guided by personal benefits or by maneuvers intended to harm other leaders.
In his appearance, he also took aim at analysts, journalists and automated accounts that, in his view, attribute "malicious" intentions to him and feed conspiracy theories about his steps, while also denouncing the "prejudices" and comments with a "racist" slant that accompany some of these accusations.
Liberman is a veteran figure on the Israeli scene, where he has held up to five different ministries and has been deputy prime minister, always at the helm of a conservative and Zionist party that in its early days primarily represented the Russian-speaking community. Former Minister of Defense and of Foreign Affairs in Cabinets headed by Netanyahu, he has run in these elections within the Eisenkot bloc, despite rumors—denied by him—about any eventual support for the bloc led by Netanyahu.
Under the new parliamentary map, Yisrael Beytenu's seven seats are shaping up as a key piece for shoring up the coalition that the Eisenkot party Yashar is trying to put together, the second most voted-for force with 21 deputies, only six behind Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud.