Eisenkot eyes end to Netanyahu era

After a meeting on Tuesday with the heads of parties in his bloc, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot said the days of Netanyahu's government were numbered.

He said that starting Tuesday, Netanyahu is "a transitional prime minister, backed only by 46 Knesset members".

This remark implies that the 7-member United Torah Judaism party, which was part of the outgoing government until last year and is normally counted as part of the pro-Netanyahu bloc despite recently voicing public doubt about that, is indeed not a bloc member, potentially hinting at future cooperation with the ultra-Orthodox party. Some members of Eisenkot's bloc staunchly oppose collaborating with the Haredi parties, however.

He also laid out immediate legislative plans and implies that a party often counted as part of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led bloc is no longer aligned with him.

Calling the meeting with Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman and Yair Golan as "good and important," Eisenkot says in a video statement that the bloc leaders are "coordinated and prepared for the coming days."