Israeli opposition backs Eisenkot as PM after inconclusive election

The heads of Israel's five opposition parties agreed on Tuesday to back Gadi Eisenkot as the next prime minister. They met in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, for their first joint meeting since the October 27 election, according to Al Jazeera.

The vote left neither Eisenkot's change bloc nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. A majority requires 61 seats. Netanyahu's camp won 53 seats, of which 27 belong to Likud, while Eisenkot's bloc won 48. Arab-majority lists won a record 19 seats, with the Joint List taking 11 and Ra'am eight.

In a joint statement, the opposition leaders said all their parties would recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog. They said, "The party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the 'Oct. 7 government' with a national emergency government." Negotiating teams are to begin drafting policy guidelines and coalition agreements at once. The leaders also stood by four principles set by Eisenkot, including that all government parties recognise Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a terrorist group.

The main disagreement is whether to ally with the Arab-led parties. Yair Golan is the only opposition leader openly backing such a partnership, and he met Arab party leaders before the talks. Avigdor Lieberman firmly opposes it but wants to avoid another election. Eisenkot's party appears to have ruled it out without saying so explicitly, and the position of Naftali Bennett's Together party is unclear. Bennett said: "We don't have time – we must act with great urgency."

Arab party leaders condemned the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack without describing Hamas as a terror group, France 24 reported. The leaders of the two Arab-majority lists said their shared aim was to bring down what they call a racist government. Yousef Jabareen said the opposition needed to accept political reality and join forces to remove Netanyahu.

Netanyahu on Monday called for a broad national government under his leadership and ruled out a coalition with Arab-majority lists. He said: "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 added: "We seek to establish a broad government with our partners and with any party that wishes to join and does not support terrorism." No opposition leader has expressed openness to joining him.

Herzog will consult parties on Wednesday and Thursday. He has seven days, until November 11, to choose a candidate, who then has 28 days, extendable by 14, to form a coalition. If a second attempt fails, 61 lawmakers can ask the president to pick a third candidate. If that is not achieved within 14 days, parliament is dissolved and new elections are held.