Zohar: rotation with Eisenkot if bigger, Netanyahu first

Culture Minister Miki Zohar of Likud said in a Knesset Channel interview on Wednesday that he would be willing to propose a rotation government with Gadi Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff who recently broke from Yesh Atid to form his own party, if Eisenkot's list polls higher than Likud in the coming election. But Zohar insisted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have to serve first.

"If Eisenkot is bigger, I'll propose sitting with him in rotation, but Netanyahu serves first as prime minister," Zohar told interviewers Safi Ovadia and Lior Kinan.

He added immediately that any such decision would rest solely with Netanyahu. "That will be a decision only of Prime Minister Netanyahu," Zohar said. He also clarified that he is not boycotting Eisenkot personally. "I'm not boycotting Eisenkot. I simply think Netanyahu is the only one who can finish the missions in the Middle East."

Earlier on Wednesday, Eisenkot gave an interview to Radio 103FM in which he projected confidence ahead of the election, now two weeks away. "I'm working around the clock and plowing through the country in every city, including Likud cities," he said. "I see packed halls, and so I'm convinced that in two weeks we'll win and reach more than 60 seats."

Eisenkot added that he would not allow Netanyahu to remain prime minister with only 49 Knesset members in a transitional government leading to another round of elections. "We will have an overwhelming Zionist majority," he said.