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Israeli Opposition Leaders Agree to Back Eisenkot for Prime Minister
· Confirmed
In Short: The meeting included Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party.
Leaders of the Jewish-led opposition alliance in Israel met Tuesday in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, for their first joint meeting since the October 27 election, which left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
The meeting included Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party.
Eisenkot, a former military chief, has ruled out joining a governing coalition led by Netanyahu, even at the personal request of US President Donald Trump, according to KAN public broadcaster.
The opposition leaders stood by four principles set out by Eisenkot, including that all parties in government recognize Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a “terrorist” group.
The opposition leaders stressed their “shared interest in using the parliamentary majority to bring down the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir-Smotrich government and replace it,” according to a statement.
What this adds
The opposition leaders' agreement to back Eisenkot for prime minister is a significant development in the ongoing political negotiations following the recent election.
The meeting in Herzliya marks a coordinated effort to form a new government, but deep divisions among the opposition leaders, particularly over cooperation with Arab parties, could still pose challenges.
Background
Final results from Israel's 2026 election confirmed that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured a parliamentary majority.
What's confirmed
- The meeting brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party, according to The Jerusalem Post.
What's still developing
- They make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population.
- On Monday, Netanyahu called for a “broad national government” under his leadership, saying his Likud party, with 27 seats, remained the largest.
- Humanitarian catastrophe largely ignored as rivals Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu vow to end Hamas rule Humanitarian catastrophe largely ignored as rivals Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu vow to end Hamas rule As Israel prepares to go to the polls, Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for an outcome that could shape their future, knowing their fate rests with the country that has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed nearly 75,000 people.
- While the opposition appears to have more potential paths to a parliamentary majority, deep divisions among its leaders, particularly over cooperation with Arab parties, could prevent them from translating an electoral advantage into a governing coalition.
- He entered politics only four years ago and joined Netanyahu's war cabinet after the Hamas attack, but quit eight months later, criticising the prime minister's leadership.
- Netanyahu's main rival in the elections, Gadi Eisenkot also called it "Jewish terror" - the same term Levine used when speaking to The Associated Press on Saturday from her hospital bed.