Israel's coalition game: Netanyahu, Eisenkot play political bluff - who will blink first?
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: Netanyahu talks unity, Liberman talks haredi compromise, and Eisenkot needs partners, but no coalition is real until someone says what they will give up
Assessment
The public positioning around a potential unity government has entered a phase where each leader is testing what they can demand without paying a political price. Netanyahu's unity rhetoric and Liberman's haredi compromise signals are both conditional offers that require the other side to move first. Eisenkot's need for coalition partners gives him leverage only if he is willing to walk away from talks. The real question is which leader will be forced to sacrifice a core constituency to make a deal happen.