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Israeli Opposition Leaders Back Eisenkot to Form New Government
Confirmed
In Short: Despite their differences, all party leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have agreed to back him to form the next government.
Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is the favored candidate to form a new government in Israel, backed by a diverse opposition bloc that won 48 seats in the recent election.
Yair Lapid, a centrist former prime minister, emphasized the need to remove Netanyahu from power, stating, "What we need to do now is go and form a government, because the conduct of recent days is just a reminder that we must remove Netanyahu and his people from the Prime Minister's Office."
Eisenkot's bloc met in Herzliya, a tech industry hub north of Tel Aviv, to coordinate their efforts to form a government.
Avigdor Liberman, a right-wing member of Eisenkot's bloc, stressed the need to avoid another election but ruled out including Arab parties in the government.
Despite their differences, all party leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have agreed to back him to form the next government.
Eisenkot has stated he would agree to meet with former US President Donald Trump if invited, but opposes any US involvement in Israel's internal political affairs.
What's confirmed
- "What we need to do now is go and form a government, because the conduct of recent days is just a reminder that we must remove Netanyahu and his people from the Prime Minister's Office," Lapid told reporters.
What's still developing
- Yair Lapid, a centrist former prime minister who headed the opposition in the outgoing parliament, said as he entered that Netanyahu was backing an "extreme and dangerous attempt to invalidate the elections".
- Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly alleged major fraud or malfeasance by Arab-majority parties which made historic gains last week, winning 19 seats in the 120-member parliament on the back of anger over the hard-right government's rhetoric towards Arab citizens of Israel.
- Tal Schneider is a Political Correspondent at The Times of Israel The Yashar party, the new centrist faction led by former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, has already begun working on an amendment to the Commissions of Inquiry Law that would allow a formal state commission of inquiry to be established by a simple majority vote of the Knesset plenum.
- In a joint statement, Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Yair Golan and Avigdor Liberman said they would immediately coordinate efforts to replace what they called the "October 7 government" with a national emergency government.
- 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.
- Yet, time and again, he has found a way back.