Follow-Up: Israel's Arab Parties Set to Back Eisenkot to Form a Government, Lifting His Support to 67 Seats
Israel's post-election coalition bargaining took a decisive turn on November 2. According to Israeli media reports, the two Arab parties that won a record 19 seats between them — the Joint List with 11 and Ra'am with eight — are expected to recommend opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister to President Isaac Herzog. Combined with the opposition bloc's own 48 seats, that would give Eisenkot 67 recommendations, above the 61-seat threshold, and likely earn him the mandate to form a government.
Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen told The Guardian his party would not sit in an Eisenkot cabinet but would back it in Knesset votes, potentially enabling a minority government short of 61 seats; he called the election outcome a historic opportunity to change Israel's political direction. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas has previously said he would join an Eisenkot cabinet if his party received the internal security ministry. Herzog on November 1 urged party leaders to accept the results and show flexibility, and will begin consultations with the parliamentary factions on Wednesday after the Central Elections Committee certifies the results. The new Knesset is to be sworn in on November 10; whoever receives the mandate will have 28 days, extendable by 14, to build a coalition.
Significant obstacles remain. Eisenkot has set four conditions for partners, including recognising Israel as a Jewish state, recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must be destroyed, and supporting mandatory national service; the Joint List leader declined in an interview to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Within the opposition camp, Avigdor Lieberman has firmly rejected joining a government dependent on Arab party support. Eisenkot himself was reported by public broadcaster KAN on November 2 to have ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led cabinet even if President Trump asked him to. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, also short of a majority, and he insists on leading the coalition talks himself.
Source: KAN (Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：以色列反对党阵营领袖、前参谋总长 Gadi Eisenkot（资料图）。照片 CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Israel's opposition bloc and a former military chief of staff (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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