Eisenkot set Netanyahu unity trap, analyst says

Commentator and presenter Eliraz Sade published an analysis Thursday on his X account of the coalition talks, under the heading "Eisenkot set Netanyahu in a unity trap." According to Sade, Gadi Eisenkot is capable of joining a unity government, but to advance that option, Binyamin Netanyahu will have to offer him a significant concession. Sade assessed that the longer Netanyahu avoids compromise, the more Eisenkot will be able to grant broader legitimacy to the alternatives before him.

One of the alternatives Sadeh mentioned is a change government with the chareidi parties or with the Arab parties. He compared it to the Bennett-Lapid government and assessed it could last longer. "They've made improvements on the Bennett-Lapid prototype, this won't be a short government," he wrote.

He argued that a public concession also has a political advantage. "Whichever of the two exposes a substantive concession first will also gain political capital accordingly," he wrote. According to him, Netanyahu's unity campaign alone is not enough to advance a deal. He described the gap between the call for unity and an actual compromise offer through the image he gave to the chapter named after him, "Snakes and Ladders." In his words, "extending an empty hand is a snake square and not a ladder."

He said that Eisenkot is able to conduct negotiations quietly, to demand compensation behind the scenes, and to leave his partners room to present achievements of their own. Eisenkot maintains this approach both with Liberman, Bennett and Yair Golan, along with the pressure from the chareidi parties. Sadeh believes this approach makes it easier for partners to reach compromises, because it reduces friction between them and Eisenkot.