⚖️ SHAS PETITIONS COURT AS CONSCRIPTION DISPUTE SHARPENS: Shas petitioned Justice Solberg against the attorney general, seeking permission for a memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to proceed.
Aryeh Deri said he had no need to call on those who are not studying Torah to enlist, arguing that the military should address the matter. Naftali Bennett responded that Deri was harming soldiers and should not serve in another Israeli government, while Avigdor Liberman accused Deri of becoming Israel’s leading promoter of draft avoidance.
🗳️ ERDAN WITHDRAWS AS PARTIES MANEUVER BEFORE CANDIDATE-LIST DEADLINE: Gadi Eisenkot said his camp was preparing “surprises” ahead of the closure of candidate lists. An Israel Hayom poll placed the Netanyahu bloc, including Ofer Winter, at 53 seats and the Eisenkot bloc at 55, with the Smotrich-Feiglin alliance receiving 6 seats and Winter 4.
Pressure on Winter to merge continues. Bezalel Smotrich published a poll showing 90% support for a merger among Amcha Yisrael voters and invited Winter to meet immediately.
Gilad Erdan announced that his Unity Party will not contest the election, saying its support did not provide a strong likelihood of crossing the electoral threshold and that attempts to form a broader unity alliance had failed. Erdan said voters were primarily focused on determining who would become prime minister rather than establishing a broad unity government, and that withdrawing would prevent his supporters’ votes from being wasted. He said the decision did not end his commitment to public service. Yuli Edelstein and Aliza Bloch are also retiring with him.
Eisenkot subsequently called on additional parties polling below the threshold to withdraw. Blue and White rejected his approach, arguing instead for a broad Zionist government spanning political blocs and avoiding reliance on either Arab or ultra-Orthodox parties.
With 72 hours remaining before candidate lists close, there has been no progress between Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett. Both continue separate discussions with Chili Tropper.
📍 EISENKOT CAMP REMARKS ON FARMS AND OUTPOSTS DRAW RIGHT-WING RESPONSE: Yoram Cohen, Eisenkot’s number two, called for evacuating some farms and settlement outposts established by Smotrich that were not created through a government decision.
Likud cited the remarks as evidence that an Eisenkot-led government would evacuate settlements and pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state. Smotrich similarly argued that Cohen’s comments validated his warnings about the future of the communities and farms, and used them to renew his appeal for Ofer Winter to join a unified right-wing slate rather than run independently.
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