Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman commented Monday on the election results, placing the blame for the center-left bloc's failure squarely on Gadi Eisenkot.
Despite his sharp criticism of his political allies, Liberman announced that his party would support Yair Lapid's bid to become speaker of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and would recommend Eisenkot for prime minister
'Eisenkot ran a selfish campaign'
Liberman's criticism came after the center-left bloc secured just 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, well below expectations. "We suffered a crushing defeat. Forty-eight seats is far fewer than we expected, and the responsibility lies first and foremost with Gadi Eisenkot," Liberman said.
He stressed that he had already expressed his criticism to Eisenkot privately before making it public. "I told him this face-to-face, and I'm saying it publicly now," he said. "Eisenkot ran the most selfish campaign imaginable, focusing on becoming the largest party. All the talk about a minority government also caused us to hemorrhage support."
Liberman said the electoral damage had been particularly severe in the final stretch of the campaign. "In the last 10 days, we lost between seven and eight seats," he said.
'I told Eisenkot I would recommend him'
Liberman also pointed to the decline in support for the parties in the outgoing coalition."As for the election results, Bibi and his partners had 64 seats and dropped to 53," he said.
He attributed some of his bloc's losses to right-wing voters who had considered switching their support but ultimately feared the consequences. "Likud voters told me they wanted to vote for me, but they were afraid because Gadi Eisenkot was supposed to lead the bloc and form a minority government," Liberman said.
Although he acknowledged that he had told Eisenkot he would recommend him for prime minister, Liberman insisted that he had never been willing to participate in a minority government. "I was also very clear about a minority government. We will not be part of one, and we will not lend our support to any minority government," he said.
He reiterated his refusal to join a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. "Everyone who voted for me knew exactly what they were getting. I'm not going with Netanyahu, no matter what."
Liberman also addressed pressure from left-wing figures who had urged him to join a government dependent on Arab parties. "People on the Left called me and asked me to enter a government with the Arabs. I spoke with some of them," he said. "I told them they have short memories: Vivian Silver and Oded Lifshitz were peace activists, and they were brutally murdered."
Silver and Lifshitz were both peace activists from communities near the Gaza Strip who were killed in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and its aftermath.
'A federation of minorities'
Turning to Israel's deepening political divisions, Liberman expressed concern about the social trends he believes are pulling the country apart. "Israel is heading in a Lebanese direction, toward a federation of religious and ethnic minorities," he warned, invoking Lebanon's sectarian political system.
On parliamentary matters, the Yisrael Beytenu chairman confirmed that Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid had approached him about the leadership of the new Knesset. "Lapid asked me to support him for Knesset speaker, and we will support him," Liberman said.
Toward the end of his remarks, Liberman addressed the emerging crisis within the right-wing bloc and tensions between Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, expressing satisfaction at the rift among the rival bloc's leaders. "I'm finally enjoying the ultra-Orthodox parties. (Shas Chairman Aryeh) Deri isn't answering Bibi's calls, and United Torah Judaism is considering other options," he quipped.
According to Liberman, the political instability in the opposing camp also offered some welcome moments of satisfaction. "Sometimes politics can be enjoyable, too," he said.
