Photo credit: SBS
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will announce on Sunday whom he will ask to form a new government, after the opposition’s Gadi Eisenkot secured a commanding number of recommendations to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
SBS News reports that Herzog has held a second day of consultations with political parties after the 27 October election, in which neither Netanyahu – the polarizing right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war – nor Eisenkot – the former military chief promising to restore national unity – secured through votes for a majority.
Herzog makes his choice independently, but traditionally the mandate is given to the person recommended by more parliament members. Eisenkot was chosen by 67 while 46 opted for Netanyahu. Seven abstained.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party said that “the citizens of Israel have chosen change and expressed a complete lack of confidence in outgoing Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government”, and called for the “immediate establishment of a national emergency government that will begin working for all citizens of Israel”.
Two Arab-majority lists won an unprecedented 19 seats in the election, making them potential kingmakers if Eisenkot’s opposition chooses to work with them, which remains unclear.
Both Arab lists have said they were backing Eisenkot.
However, another party in Eisenkot’s camp, right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu, right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu, has repeatedly indicated it will not sit in a government that relies on support from Arab parties.
Party leader Avigdor Liberman, a former Netanyahu ally turned critic, cited as a reason the refusal by Arab parties to explicitly define Hamas as a “terror group” even though they have repeatedly condemned the organization’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
