Israel’s opposition bloc is meeting on Tuesday to coordinate its next steps after the October 27 election produced no clear parliamentary majority. The bloc is led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, whom its members intend to recommend as the next prime minister to President Isaac Herzog.
The election left Netanyahu’s coalition with 53 seats and Eisenkot’s bloc with 48 in the 120-seat Knesset. Arab parties Raam and the Joint List won a combined 19 seats, making their potential role a central question in efforts to form a government.
Netanyahu has called for a broad coalition under his leadership, saying he is open to discussions with any party that does not support terrorism. He has argued that Israeli public opinion does not want a government dependent on the Arab parties. Their leaders have condemned Hamas’s October 7 attacks, while views among them differ on defining Israel as a Jewish state.
The opposition bloc is also divided over whether to work with the Arab parties. Left-wing leader Yair Golan supports an alliance, while right-wing leader Avigdor Liberman strongly opposes one. The Yashar party appeared to rule out the possibility without explicitly closing the door, and the position of the centrist-right Ensemble party remains unclear.
Herzog said he would consult the parties from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening, starting with those that won fewer seats. Under Israeli practice, he is expected to assign the task of forming a government to the candidate who receives the strongest recommendations, taking the parties’ parliamentary weight into account—a process that currently puts Eisenkot in a leading position.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir are expected to recommend the outgoing prime minister, as is the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, according to press reports. The position of the other ultra-Orthodox party is unclear.
Herzog has until November 11, in principle, to choose a candidate. The person designated then has 28 days to form a coalition that can win the Knesset’s confidence, with a possible 14-day extension. If that attempt fails, the president can give another candidate 28 days. If the deadlock continues, parliament can be asked to find 61 members to form a majority; if that effort also fails, the Knesset is dissolved and new elections are held within 90 days.
Sources: Observador.