Eisenkot delays swearing-in until Ohana replaced as speaker

Yesh Atid chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman will meet tomorrow in an effort to reach understandings on the parliamentary moves of the change bloc and the question of forming a government, N12 reported today.

It is their second meeting since the election, this time one day before the swearing-in of the new Knesset and one day after Eisenkot received the mandate to form a government. The meeting was scheduled several days ago.

Earlier, tonight, Eisenkot is expected to meet with Naftali Bennett. On Tuesday he is scheduled to meet with Yesh Atid chairman Yair Golan.

Ynet correspondent Moran Azoulay reported that Eisenkot does not plan to swear in a government, even if he succeeds in forming one, until the current Knesset speaker, Amir Ohana, is replaced. The concern in the Eisenkot bloc is that Ohana will use his authority and exploit the seven-day window from the day of notification to the president in order to delay the swearing-in session to the latest possible date, thereby applying political pressure on MKs who might torpedo the formation of the government.

To prevent this delay, the Eisenkot bloc has already submitted to Ohana a demand to hold a vote on his replacement as early as Tuesday, on the day of the Knesset swearing-in. Ohana, for his part, has made clear that even if 61 signatures are presented to him as required, the vote will take place only during the following week, a timeline that leads Eisenkot to wait with the swearing-in of the government in any case.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of Lieberman's dramatic announcement that he is prepared to compromise even on the draft law, as part of an effort to form a government after the elections. According to him, the national interest requires flexibility on issues not included in the three red lines he set: ending the Netanyahu era, avoiding another election, and opposition to a government that relies on abstention by the Joint List and Ra'am.

"On all other issues it is permitted and desirable to be flexible and to compromise and to understand that if you grasp too much, you grasp nothing," Lieberman wrote in a statement he published. "This includes the draft law as well. It pains me, and I know it pains many others as well. But in light of the array of challenges we are facing today, the national interest of the State of Israel and the people of Israel must stand above every other consideration."

Following Lieberman's statement, a source in United Torah Judaism revealed a willingness to join an Eisenkot government on condition of agreement on the draft. "We are not very surprised. Since the election we have been hearing the talk. We speak with people in the change bloc, we understood where this is going," the source in the party said.

"If they give us a draft law we will go with them. Absolutely. That is the most important thing right now. When that is freed up the budgets will be freed up as well. We are in politics and in politics you do what needs to be done," the source clarified.

President Yitzchak Herzog last night gave Yesh Atid chairman Gadi Eisenkot the task of forming the 38th government. The decision was made after Eisenkot received the recommendation of 67 MKs, including the Arab parties, while 46 MKs recommended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Seven MKs, the United Torah Judaism faction, chose not to recommend anyone.

According to the law, Eisenkot has 28 days to form the government, with the final date for presenting a government being December 6, 2026. If additional time is required, the president is authorized to grant an extension of up to 14 additional days.