Israel’s opposition is increasing its chances of ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power after the parliamentary elections on October 27. Former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Gadi Eisenkot has received the support of a majority of Knesset lawmakers and is emerging as the leading candidate to form a new government, France 24 reports.
During consultations with President Isaac Herzog, 67 of the 120 lawmakers backed Eisenkot’s candidacy, while 46 supported incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The head of state is expected to announce on Sunday, November 8, whom he will task with forming a government.
On Friday, Eisenkot announced significant progress in negotiations among the opposition parties. In a post on the social network X, he said that numerous meetings had been held, some of which had not been made public, and expressed hope of being given the mandate to form a national unity government.
Despite the support of 67 lawmakers, the political situation remains complicated. The four main opposition parties hold a total of 48 seats, while the remaining 19 votes come from two Arab political formations.
The support of the Arab parties proved decisive in Eisenkot’s advantage over Netanyahu. The United List and Ra’am announced that they would support his candidacy in order to prevent the former prime minister from returning to lead the government.
However, this does not automatically mean that Eisenkot has a stable parliamentary majority. Some of his allies categorically reject the possibility of a coalition with the Arab parties.
Among them is Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, who said he would not accept such a partnership even if the Arab lawmakers supported the government only from outside.
At the same time, Lieberman signaled a possible compromise with the ultra-Orthodox parties, which had traditionally been Netanyahu’s allies.
The main dispute between them concerns compulsory military service for students at religious schools. The ultra-Orthodox parties insist that they be exempted from military service, while Lieberman long defended the opposite position.
The two ultra-Orthodox parties hold a total of 13 seats, which could provide the Eisenkot opposition bloc with the minimum majority of 61 lawmakers.
However, their positions remain different. The United Torah Judaism party refused to support Netanyahu during the presidential consultations, while the Shas party continues to back the incumbent prime minister.
Following the elections, Netanyahu’s political bloc holds 53 seats, but United Torah Judaism’s refusal to recommend his candidacy reduced the number of his declared supporters to 46.
President Herzog warned that despite Eisenkot’s numerical advantage, mutual political constraints and disagreements among the parties are making it difficult to form a functioning majority.
One of the options under discussion is the formation of a national unity government involving the Likud party, but without Benjamin Netanyahu.
The candidate who receives the mandate will have 28 days to form a government, with the deadline potentially extended by another 14 days. If the negotiations end unsuccessfully, the president may give the mandate to another candidate.
Until a new cabinet is formed, Benjamin Netanyahu will remain at the head of the caretaker government. If the political deadlock continues, Israel could face another early election.