Israel coalition talks: Liberman’s U-turn opens path

The Yisrael Beytenu leader says he is ready to compromise, even on military service for yeshiva students, but still rules out any deal with Arab parties.

Avigdor Liberman, a key figure in the opposition bloc against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Friday that he would drop his long-standing veto on partnering with ultra-Orthodox parties.

The former defense minister had built his campaign on a promise to force ultra-Orthodox seminary students into military service.

On X, he now says he is ready to make “compromises,” including on conscription. “Wanting everything means risking getting nothing, and that includes the conscription law,” he wrote, admitting that the reversal “pains” him.

The arithmetic

The late-October election left both camps short of the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats. The opposition, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, won 48.

The two main Arab parties, the United List and Ra’am, have offered their 19 seats to Eisenkot, which would give him a comfortable 67. They also recommended him to President Isaac Herzog during consultations that ended Thursday. Herzog is due to name his choice on Sunday.

But Liberman, whose party holds seven seats, “firmly” rejects any pact with the Arab parties, even outside support for a minority government. His right-wing voters would struggle to accept such an alliance, as social divisions have deepened since October 7.

That leaves the ultra-Orthodox. Shas and United Torah Judaism have 13 seats between them, enough to give the opposition a 61-seat majority.

The two parties were long Netanyahu’s most loyal partners, but they are frustrated by his failure to enshrine their military exemption in law. United Torah Judaism refused to recommend Netanyahu to Herzog, but it did not back Eisenkot either.