Eisenkot refuses to take a ministerial position in a new government led by Netanyahu

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar Party and one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's most prominent rivals in the Knesset elections scheduled for October 27, confirmed today, Wednesday, that he will not accept the position of minister in any new government led by Netanyahu, ruling out working under his leadership even if a power-sharing agreement is reached between them.

Eisenkot said, in an interview with Israeli Radio 103 FM, that he is “categorically” committed not to work in a government headed by Netanyahu, including any formula based on an agreement to rotate the presidency of the government and share power between the two parties.

Eisenkot's position comes as the Israeli elections approach, in light of the rapprochement of the two main camps, and expectations that neither of them will be able to obtain an independent majority in the Knesset, which opens the door to the possibility of forming a coalition government or a unity government that includes parties from different political camps.

This scene raised speculation about the possibility of forming a unity government that brings together Netanyahu's right-wing bloc with the centrist and center-right parties, in an attempt to overcome the difficulty of forming a coalition with a stable parliamentary majority.

Eisenkot had built his election campaign on criticizing Netanyahu and demanding his removal as prime minister, based on the failure to prevent the attack of October 7, 2023, and the security and political repercussions that followed.

Opinion polls showed a great rapprochement between Netanyahu's right-wing coalition and the opposition camp centered around Eisenkot, with estimates of each winning about 50 to 52 seats, a number short of the required majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Despite his refusal to work under Netanyahu's leadership, Eisenkot did not rule out, during the interview, the possibility of forming a national unity government in general, without this meaning his agreement to participate in a government headed by the current prime minister.

On the other hand, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose party ranks third in opinion polls, said that Netanyahu's participation in a future government would not represent a problem for him, in a position different from Eisenkot's position of refusing to work under the leadership of the current Prime Minister.

The dispute over Netanyahu's political future is not limited to electoral calculations and the distribution of seats, as the prime minister faces trial in several corruption-related cases, charges he denies.