Eisenkot lays out plan to nix outgoing government’s laws, implies UTJ no longer in pro-Netanyahu bloc

After a meeting earlier today with the heads of parties in his bloc, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot lays 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.”

Repeating his pledge to form an “emergency national government” based on his stated principles, Eisenkot says the parties will soon start working on more detailed guidelines and carrying out a raft of steps in the Knesset, including replacing the parliament speaker, passing unspecified “important” legislation, and “canceling laws that endanger democracy” — presumably the judicial overhaul laws passed by the outgoing government.

“We will act as quickly as possible to prevent the dragging of Israel to another election and the continuation of Netanyahu’s clinging to power,” Eisenkot adds.

He says 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.

Eisenkot says the next few days will be “full of spins and ugly and false [press] briefings,” adding that he and his allies are determined and won’t be deterred.