Israeli media reports the Likud party circulated a message to ministers and lawmakers stating its refusal to serve in a government led by center-left figures such as MK Gadi Eisenkot, whom it characterizes as left-wing. The message asserts that only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can form a broad national government with a national (right-wing) platform binding on all coalition partners.
The Likud party has circulated a messaging document to its ministers and Knesset members ruling out serving under former IDF chief and current MK Gadi Eisenkot, whom it labels a left-wing figure, according to a report by journalist Bini Ashkenazi on Wednesday. The document states that 'only Prime Minister Netanyahu can form a broad national government, with a national platform that all partners will be committed to.'
The message comes amid ongoing coalition talks following the March 2026 elections, which produced a fragmented Knesset with no clear majority. Eisenkot, who leads a centrist-to-center-left faction, has been floated as a potential unity prime minister by some political commentators, a prospect the Likud is now publicly rejecting.
The document positions the party's opposition to Eisenkot as a matter of principle — that joining a government he would head would effectively create a left-wing government — rather than a negotiation tactic. The report is attributed to a single journalist and reflects internal Likud messaging, not an official party statement.
- DevelopingLikud ministers open to serving under Eisenkot if he leans on Arab support
- StrongLapid rules out a Netanyahu-led government, says he will not join the Likud leader
- DevelopingPolitical analyst Chaim Cohen: Government positioning Eisenkot as center-left candidate, advanced technical-bloc talks underway
- DevelopingBlogger predicts Netanyahu-Bennett-Eisenkot-Lieberman unity government
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- Internal intake