Update: Israeli Opposition Leaders Agree to Recommend Eisenkot for Prime Minister
In their first joint meeting since the Oct. 27 election, five opposition leaders said they will name Gadi Eisenkot to President Herzog, whose consultations with the parties begin Wednesday.
Learn more ›JERUSALEM —
Israel's opposition party leaders held their first joint meeting since the Oct. 27 election and all agreed to recommend Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as the candidate to form the next government, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Learn more ›Taking part were Eisenkot of Yashar, whose party won the most seats in the opposition bloc; Naftali Bennett of B'Yachad; Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu; Yair Golan of The Democrats; and Yair Lapid, the outgoing opposition leader and No. 2 on the B'Yachad slate. In a joint statement, the leaders said they agree on “the need to establish a Zionist government” built on four principles Eisenkot set out on Saturday. Negotiating teams are to begin work at once on the guiding principles for what would be Israel's 38th government.
“We have no time. We need to act with great urgency,” Bennett said. Before the meeting, Lapid said the opposition faces “a serious and dangerous attempt to undermine the election results.” Outside, families of victims urged the leaders not to give legitimacy to those who led the country during the Oct. 7 massacre.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud has alleged election interference and claimed the Arab parties “stole” the election. The leaders' own differences also remain. Golan urged a government with the Arab parties, while Liberman said a coalition with them is not an option, and Bennett ruled it out before the election. Liberman also opposes a minority government and a unity government with Netanyahu.
Learn more ›The numbers make any path hard. Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats and the opposition bloc 48, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Ra'am and the Joint List won a record 19 seats combined and say they are willing to work with the opposition, which would bring the total to 67.
Seats in Israel's 120-member Knesset
Source: The Jerusalem Post. 61 seats are needed for a majority.
Herzog's consultations with the Knesset factions begin Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. The new Knesset is expected to be sworn in Nov. 10, and opposition leaders reportedly plan to move first to remove Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud, which would take a majority vote.
See where this is ›What we don't know yet: Whom Herzog will ask to form a government, whether any coalition can reach 61 seats, and whether Israel faces another election, a unity government or a minority government. The four principles Eisenkot outlined were not listed in the report.
