Eisenkot says opposition bloc will ‘not surrender’ on conscription amid haredi coalition talks

"We are committed to service for all citizens. We will not surrender on the issue of service. We will not surrender our flags or principles,” Eisenkot said.

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot said on Tuesday that the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not give up on the issue of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription, amid ongoing coalition talks in which the bloc has considered partnering with haredi parties.

"We are committed to service for all citizens. We will not surrender on the issue of service. We will not surrender our flags or principles,” Eisenkot said at the first Yashar faction meeting in the Knesset ahead of the inaugural ceremony to swear in the 26th Knesset.

Party leaders in the opposition bloc have recently opened the door to negotiations with the haredi parties after previously drawing a red line against partnering with them, offering an alternative path to forming a government amid the political deadlock between the opposition bloc and Netanyahu's camp following the October 27 elections.

The haredi parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) - had repeatedly pushed against legislation to draft haredim to the IDF amid the military's severe manpower crisis throughout the government's past term.

Eisenkot officially received the mandate to form a government from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday at a ceremony at the President's Residence. By law, he has 28 days to form a government, starting Sunday, and the president may grant him an extension of up to 14 additional days if necessary.

Eisenkot confident in ability to form government

The Yashar leader has said that “unconventional steps” would be required to form a government and expressed confidence that it would be possible.

“We will work together with our partners – B'Yachad, the Democrats, and Yisrael Beytenu – and extend a hand to any partner who recognizes our four principles,” Eisenkot added during his remarks at the Knesset.

Opposition bloc leaders Naftali Bennett (B'Yachad), Yair Golan (the Democrats), and Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) also expressed their backing for Eisenkot during their respective faction meetings at the Knesset.

Bennett said at the start of his faction meeting in the Knesset that the oppostion bloc has "received the tools necessary to form a good government in Israel.”

“But there is no time. Even at this very moment, our reservists along all of the country's borders are crying out for a change of leadership under the stretcher.

Expressing his support for the Yashar leader, Bennett added he was "doing everything possible to help Eisenkot form a Zionist government of reform as quickly as possible, so that we can bring about the ‘servants' revolution’ and begin repairing the State of Israel.”

Liberman pledges to act as Eisenkot's 'right-hand man'

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said that Eisenkot was “in charge of forming the government” and that he would act as his “right-hand man.”

“We presented three flags during the election campaign: ending the era led by Netanyahu, establishing a government without Arab parties, and passing a conscription law and forming a government without haredi parties,” Liberman said.

“We thought these positions had majority support among the public, but we saw that they did not, and therefore we are looking for a compromise,” he continued.

Liberman also said that the Eisenkot-led bloc would push for an IDF conscription law that could receive the approval of the High Court of Justice.

Golan called on the opposition bloc not to rule out the Arab parties during his remarks at his party press conferance in the Knesset. Other opposition bloc leaders had drawn a red line against partnering with them ahead of the elections. The Arab parties received a record-breaking 19 seats combined in the elections.

“Do not rule out the Arab parties, and do not exclude the Arab public. Those capable of treating our wounded sons and saving their lives are worthy, entitled, and able to sit alongside us in the government and the coalition,” Golan said.