Lieberman: “A minority government will not happen”; will recommend Eisenkot to form gov. rules out Netanyahu

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that “a minority government will not happen,” as he announced his party would recommend that Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming the next government. He said he assumed PM Benjamin Netanyahu would also be given the mandate later.

Meanwhile, the Democrats Party announced that it too will throw its support behind Eisenkot while the Shas Party announced that it would recommend Netanyahu for PM.

Lieberman made clear he would not serve with Netanyahu under any circumstances, even if offered a rotation. “In any case, I will not sit with him. Even if he offers me a rotation agreement, it will not happen. He has to go home,” he said.

He was sharply critical of the opposition’s election result and of Eisenkot’s role in it. “We failed; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Forty-eight seats is a failure, and Gadi Eisenkot is responsible,” he said. He said Eisenkot ran a selfish, self-serving campaign that “cost us seven to eight Knesset seats,” he claimed.

A repeat election, Lieberman said, is a bad option, and he opposes direct elections for PM. He said, “It is impossible to pass complex legislation, such as the conscription law, under these circumstances.”

Asked whether he ruled out cooperating with the ultra-Orthodox parties, Lieberman did not answer directly. “First, we’ll see how things unfold in the Knesset,” he said.

He also said that next week the Knesset would replace its speaker, among other moves, and appoint a state comptroller. Yair Lapid wants to be Knesset speaker, Lieberman said, and his party would support the appointment.

Lieberman also disclosed classified information on Monday, saying the foreign entity suspected of transferring money to the Joint List was the Palestinian Authority. He said the Authority was involved in, and was the guiding force behind, both Ra’am and the Joint List.

He added that, despite this, the election should not be canceled, but that the Authority’s involvement had led to radicalization.

A day earlier, it was reported that a Joint List Knesset member had received hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash. There was no evidence that the money came from Qatar, as had been alleged in connection with Qatari involvement in an attempt to encourage Arab voters to turn out. It also remains unclear whether the money was used for election-related purposes or for other purposes.