The five leaders of Israel’s opposition “change bloc,” led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, met for the first time since the October 27 election, which left no side with a parliamentary majority. On Tuesday, November 3, they said they would work to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s outgoing coalition with a national emergency government, while leaving their strategy unclear ahead of consultations with President Isaac Herzog.
The opposition bloc holds 48 seats, against 53 for Netanyahu’s camp. It could reach the 61-seat threshold for a parliamentary majority with support from Arab parties, which made gains in the election. But the opposition ranges from left-wing to nationalist right-wing parties and is divided over whether to cooperate with them.
In a joint statement after meeting in Herzliya, the opposition leaders said voters had chosen change and rejected the continuation of the current government. They also described their goal as forming a “Zionist government,” a formulation that appears to rule out Arab parties joining the cabinet, but does not exclude a minority government supported by Arab lawmakers in the Knesset.
Youssef Jabareen, leader of the predominantly Arab United List, which won 11 seats, said he was prepared to support an anti-Netanyahu government without joining it. He urged the opposition to accept the political outcome of the election.
The bloc’s statement may also leave room for cooperation with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties currently allied with Netanyahu, provided they accept military service for all. Most of those parties strongly oppose conscripting religious students, an issue made more sensitive by the army’s deployment on several fronts.
The opposition leaders accused Netanyahu of running a dangerous campaign to undermine the election results by alleging widespread fraud by Arab parties. The report said no evidence had been presented for those claims. Netanyahu, in a social media post on Monday evening, said he was open to dialogue and called for a broad coalition under his leadership.
The opposition leaders are not united on ties with Arab parties. Left-wing leader Yair Golan, who met Jabareen before the Herzliya gathering, is the only bloc leader to openly call for an alliance. Nationalist Avigdor Liberman has firmly rejected that option, while Eisenkot appeared to rule it out without doing so explicitly.
Herzog is due to consult party representatives on Wednesday and Thursday before assigning one elected leader the task of forming a government. The president traditionally chooses the person with the most recommendations, taking the parties’ strength into account, a process that puts Eisenkot in a favorable position.
Sources: Le Monde International.