Lieberman Goes Quiet on Opposition Allies as Israel Weighs a National Unity Government

Avigdor Lieberman, a former ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is now one of the prime minister's opponents, has largely cut off contact with opposition colleagues while Israel's parties search for a way out of an election stalemate, according to Channel 12. The broadcaster reported the development on Wednesday.

Lieberman leads the Yisrael Beitenu party. Channel 12 said he has not been returning calls from Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, or from former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads B'Yachad (Together). His party is projected to win seven seats.

The 27 October vote appears to have left the country in deadlock. With more than 90 percent of ballots counted, preliminary results show neither Netanyahu's outgoing bloc nor the Zionist opposition reaching the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority. One reason is a projected record 19 seats for Palestinian-led parties.

Those parties have said they would back an opposition-led minority government as a way to keep Netanyahu from returning to power. Several leading opposition figures, Lieberman among them, have rejected the idea of governing with Arab parties.

Since election day, one proposed solution has been a national unity government in which Netanyahu and the main opposition parties would share power. Supporters of the idea see it as a way to avoid sending voters back to the polls for another election.

Channel 12 reported that Lieberman does not want to be the opposition leader who makes the first move toward such an arrangement. He is said to be hoping Eisenkot will take that step instead. For now, the report said, Lieberman plans to "lie in wait" while coalition negotiations proceed.

The Times of Israel noted that Lieberman has used a similar approach before. After the 2009 election, he took a week-long holiday while coalition talks continued. He later joined the government as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

Lieberman's public positions leave limited room for maneuver. Before the election, he explicitly ruled out supporting a minority government involving Arab parties, even on a temporary basis. He has also said he will not join a government led by Netanyahu. He did say he would be open to a national unity government that includes Netanyahu's Likud party, as long as Netanyahu himself is not part of it.