Israeli opposition unites behind Eisenkot as Netanyahu says voters chose him for PM

Party heads in the Israeli opposition camp, led by Gadi Eisenkot, will meet on Tuesday after they all endorsed him for prime minister, while incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a broad coalition government under his leadership.

It will be the diverse opposition grouping's first meeting since last week's close-fought election delivered no majority for either camp.

Eisenkot's Yashar party said the leaders of the so-called change bloc would meet "to discuss coordinating the bloc's next steps" in Herzliya on Tuesday morning.

Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats while Netanyahu's camp secured 53, of which 27 are from his Likud party. Arab-majority lists won a record 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, making them potential kingmakers.

Netanyahu called for a "broad national government" without the Arab parties on Monday, and said that as the head of the largest party, he should lead the next coalition.

"A clear majority of the Jewish public chose Likud as the largest party and chose me, as prime minister, to lead the next government," he said in a statement on Likud's Telegram channel.

"We seek to establish a broad government with our partners and with any party that wishes to join and does not support terrorism."

He ruled out a coalition with Arab-majority lists, alleging that the parties "support terrorism and deny the existence of the Jewish state".

Leaders of Arab Israeli parties unanimously condemned the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, without describing the Palestinian Islamist movement as a terror group.

Although the leader of the Raam party has recognised Israel as a "Jewish state", other leaders have rejected that definition.

In interviews with AFP, the heads of the two Arab-majority lists put forward a shared objective ahead of the election: bring down what they say is a "racist" government.

So far, few details have leaked about behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Despite their diverging views on various issues, all the party leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have as of Monday said they will back him to form the next government.

For their part, the Arab lists have hinted that they may endorse Eisenkot.

Consultations

But the possibility of support from the Arab lists is one of the main points of contention for the opposition.

Within Eisenkot's camp, the left-leaning leader of the Democrats, Yair Golan, has called for a partnership with the Arab lists.

But right-winger Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beiteinu party, is staunchly opposed to it.

Eisenkot's party appears to have ruled out the idea without saying so explicitly.

The stance of Naftali Bennett's centre-right Together party is unclear.

In Israel, the established practice is for the president to tap the candidate with the most recommendations, taking into account the weight of the different parties.

In Netanyahu's camp, his far-right allies are expected to put the veteran premier's name forward, as is the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, according to media reports.

The position of the other ultra-Orthodox party is unclear.

President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations with party representatives starting Wednesday.

He has seven days to make his choice, or until November 11.

The chosen candidate then has 28 days, extendable by 14 days, to form a coalition.

If they fail, the president may pick another candidate who will also have 28 days to cobble together a government.

If this second attempt also fails, then a group of 61 lawmakers can ask the president to pick a third candidate. If this is not achieved within 14 days, parliament is dissolved and new elections are held.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)