Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot ruled out joining a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would refuse to do so even if US President Donald Trump personally asked him to, KAN News reported on Monday evening.
“I will not sit in a government led by Netanyahu,” Eisenkot was quoted as saying during a recent closed-door meeting, according to the public broadcaster, which cited unnamed sources.
Eisenkot added that he would agree to meet Trump if invited, but would oppose any US involvement in Israel’s internal political affairs.
"If Trump calls me, I will respect the president and come, but I will insist that this is an internal Israeli matter and will avoid interference," Eisenkot said in the talks.
Trump's stance on unity government with Netanyahu, Eisenkot
The Jerusalem Post reported last week that Trump surrogates spoke with Israeli officials after the election about the possibility of a unity government that would include Netanyahu and Eisenkot.
A Likud official cited by The Washington Post said, “What Trump wants is a stable and reliable Israeli government that can be formed as soon as possible after the election.”
The Washington Post also reported that Netanyahu had told US officials he believed Eisenkot would be the best partner if hostilities between Israel and Iran resumed, and that he would seek a more moderate coalition if the two entered a partnership.
Opposition party heads Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan and Avigdor Liberman had all announced that they would recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as the candidate to receive the mandate to form a government.
The three leaders, along with Eisenkot and outgoing opposition leader Yair Lapid, were scheduled to meet on Tuesday in their first joint meeting since the election, the Post reported.
The election left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, while the opposition parties won 48. The Arab parties secured 19 seats, whose support could give Eisenkot the backing of 67 lawmakers.
However, forming a government remained complicated by disagreements over whether the opposition should rely on Arab parties and their support. Liberman had ruled out joining a government that depended on the Arab parties, as well as a unity government with Netanyahu.
Keshet Neev and the Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.