Eisenkot, Lieberman agree to talk with ultra-Orthodox parties
The talks come as ultra-Orthodox parties set four conditions, led by a temporary suspension of conscription for their members, for backing a government led by Eisenkot.
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman agreed on Monday to negotiate with ultra-Orthodox parties to form Israel's next government, despite disagreements over military service exemptions, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The two leaders agreed to "exhaust all avenues of negotiation" with those parties before turning to an alternative government, Israel's Channel 13 reported.
Eisenkot asked Lieberman to help him in talks with the parties and seek understandings with them, the channel added.
Conscription remains main obstacle
The ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, insist on keeping military service exemptions for students at religious seminaries, along with protecting their religious institutions and funding, the report said.
Lieberman, who opposes such exemptions, has signaled willingness to compromise to form a government without Netanyahu, but said Sunday that this did not mean abandoning the principle of service for all.
He said a conscription bill he proposed in 2018 could serve as a basis for understandings.
Channel 12 reported that the ultra-Orthodox parties have set four conditions for supporting a government led by Eisenkot, the most prominent being a temporary order suspending their members' conscription.
The other conditions include suspending the arrest of draft evaders while that order is in effect, imposing no penalties on them during that period, and winning approval from the government's legal adviser and the legal adviser to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Minority government option
The agreement postpones the option of forming a minority government backed by Arab parties until talks with the ultra-Orthodox parties clarify, the report said.
United Torah Judaism has begun talks with Eisenkot, and unnamed party officials told Israel's public broadcaster that the party is interested in negotiating with the "Change Bloc" but has not received an official call.
Eisenkot's bloc holds 48 seats, and the two ultra-Orthodox parties hold 13 of the Knesset's 120 seats, which would bring the bloc to the 61 needed for a majority.
Arab parties hold 19 seats, but Lieberman has rejected any government that depends on their support.
On Sunday evening, President Isaac Herzog formally gave Eisenkot the mandate to form a government after receiving recommendations from 67 lawmakers, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.
Under Israeli law, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension at the president's discretion.