Israel’s Avigdor Liberman has stopped communicating with opposition leaders Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett as he pushes for a unity government between Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu. Liberman stated that while he will not himself serve in a coalition led by Netanyahu, he will not support a minority government that relies on the support of Arab-majority parties, according to reports from Channel 12.
The deadlock follows Tuesday’s election where Arab-majority parties secured a record 19 of 120 seats, potentially acting as kingmakers. While the Arab Joint List offered to collaborate with the opposition to remove Netanyahu, Liberman and other potential partners in Eisenkot’s 48-seat bloc have ruled out such cooperation. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc holds 53 seats, short of the 61 required for a majority, while protesters in Tel Aviv have begun rallying in support of a joint Jewish-Arab administration.
