Eisenkot and Lieberman say a stable Israeli government can be formed

Statement after the meeting

Israel's prime minister-designate Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman expressed confidence on Monday that they can form a government capable of serving a full four-year term, despite disagreements over which parties may support it. Eisenkot's Yashar party described their meeting as a constructive and productive discussion, Anadolu reports, citing The Times of Israel. The party's statement said: Both expressed full confidence in their ability to form a stable government for a full four-year term, though no details of any agreement were provided.

The mandate and the Knesset arithmetic

President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Sunday, after parties representing 67 of the 120 Knesset members recommended his candidacy. That number includes 19 members from two Arab lists. The bloc of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds 53 seats, and Eisenkot needs the support of at least 61 members to win a parliamentary vote of confidence. Lieberman, meanwhile, ruled out supporting a minority government or a cabinet relying on Arab parties, but left open the possibility of negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox factions.

Military service exemptions — the main obstacle

The key difficulty in the negotiations concerns exemptions from military service for students of ultra-Orthodox seminaries. On Sunday evening, Eisenkot also met with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; after the meeting neither leader made a statement, and Bennett has not yet said publicly whether he would support a coalition that preserves such exemptions, Ynet reports. Bennett's Together party campaigned on ending funding for those who serve in neither the military nor civilian service, and its newly elected members reaffirmed that commitment on Monday. We remain faithful to our principles and will do everything to achieve an outcome as close as possible to what we promised voters, member Liron Avisar Ben-Horin was quoted as saying. Some figures in the Torah and Judaism party, a longtime Netanyahu ally, signaled readiness for a government led by Eisenkot, but, as the newspaper Hamodia, affiliated with the Ger movement, wrote, any coalition agreement would require guaranteed commitments to protect the status of seminary students.

Attempt to change the Knesset speaker

On the eve of the new Knesset taking office on Tuesday, the Yashar party approached Torah and Judaism and Shas asking them to support replacing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. Torah and Judaism refused, while Shas, according to Ynet, was expected to abstain from supporting the move.