Liberman Accuses Eisenkot of Angling for a Unity Government With Likud: 'He's Gantz 2' | Israel Politics Post
Liberman Accuses Eisenkot of Angling for a Unity Government With Likud: 'He's Gantz 2'
The Yisrael Beytenu leader says the Yashar frontrunner's real goal is overtaking Likud to negotiate from strength, not building the biggest opposition bloc. Eisenkot calls it spin.
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By Israel Politics Post Staff·Published
Gadi Eisenkot campaigns ahead of the election; Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset · Source: Amir Cohen/Reuters; Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, via The Times of Israel
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman accused Yashar party frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot on Friday of quietly positioning himself to negotiate with Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud after the October 27 election, The Times of Israel reported, comparing Eisenkot's trajectory to that of Benny Gantz, whose own party moved from opposing Netanyahu to repeatedly joining his coalitions.
"What interests him is not becoming the largest party in the serving bloc, but rather overtaking Likud," Liberman said of Eisenkot, arguing that his campaign was drawing votes mainly from other opposition parties rather than from Likud itself, a dynamic Liberman said would ultimately strengthen Netanyahu's negotiating position rather than weaken it.
Eisenkot pushed back directly, telling supporters to "ignore the spin" and stay focused on the real goal of winning "more than 61 Zionist seats," the threshold needed for a Knesset majority without relying on Netanyahu's bloc. He said his commitment was to replacing the current government outright, not negotiating with it.
Gantz weighed in on social media in Eisenkot's defense, contrasting both of their records of public and military service with what he characterized as Liberman's own political history, as the back-and-forth added another flashpoint to an already crowded opposition field less than two weeks before Israelis vote.
