Israel’s Liberman to head Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee amid coalition talks

Avigdor Liberman, head of Israel’s Yisrael Beiteinu, said on Friday that he would officially take over as chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, Nov. 16, calling the move a “first step” toward forming a new government, Anadolu reports.

“This is the first step toward forming a good government with a stable coalition majority that will lead Israel into a new era,” Liberman wrote on US social media platform X.

The committee oversees the security establishment and serves as a “safeguard against military actions taken for political purposes,” he stressed.

His statement came amid government formation efforts in Israel following legislative elections on Oct. 27.

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On Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government after he received recommendations from 67 Knesset members, compared with 46 for Netanyahu, while seven lawmakers made no recommendation.

Eisenkot needs the support of at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 members to secure parliamentary confidence.

Arab parties won 19 seats in the latest election, including 11 for the Joint List and eight for Ra’am, giving their positions significant weight in government-formation talks.

Liberman, however, has ruled out backing a minority government or one that relies on Arab-led parties, while signaling that he is open to talks with ultra-Orthodox factions.

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