Netanyahu buys time as haredi parties weigh Eisenkot coalition, but lacks alternative - analysis

Even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persuades the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties not to join a government led by Gadi Eisenkot, it remains unclear how he could form an alternative coalition. A unity government is Netanyahu's main option, but there is currently no indication that Eisenkot is willing to consider it. Netanyahu's efforts to prevent the formation of an Eisenkot-led government face a fundamental obstacle: keeping the haredi parties out of the rival coalition does not guarantee him a parliamentary majority of his own.Beyond the principled and publicly stated position of the Yashar party chairman, who has pledged not to serve in a government with Netanyahu, both men want to serve as prime minister. The question of a rotation agreement further complicates the possibility of reaching an understanding, even at a later stage.According to haredi sources, discussions are taking place within the ultra-Orthodox political establishment about potentially pressuring Netanyahu and Eisenkot to pursue a unity government. From the haredi parties' perspective, such a government could provide a framework for resolving military conscription and budgetary issues while avoiding another election.The alternative would be another round of elections, a prospect the haredi parties fear would come at a high cost: additional months without a resolution to the legal status of yeshiva students, without a budgetary solution, and amid the continuing crisis over enforcement…