Follow-Up: Joint List Backs Eisenkot, Taking His Endorsements to 67 Against Netanyahu's 46
Jerusalem — On November 5, the second day of presidential consultations in Israel, the Arab-led Joint List alliance announced it would formally recommend Yashar party leader and former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog that evening as the candidate to form the next government. With the Joint List's backing, the number of lawmakers recommending Eisenkot reached 67, a majority of the 120-seat Knesset, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only 46 recommendations.
The 67 comprise the 48 seats of Eisenkot's Jewish opposition bloc (Yashar, B'Yachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu), the 8 seats of the Arab party Ra'am and the Joint List's 11 seats. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the October 27 election, but his traditional ally United Torah Judaism, with 7 seats, recommended neither candidate, cutting his actual tally to 46.
In its statement, the Joint List said the decision was driven by strong public demand to prevent Netanyahu and his government from returning to power. It added that it has deep disagreements with parts of the Jewish opposition's platform and will not formally join an Eisenkot-led coalition, though it may support one from outside.
Herzog began the consultations on November 4 after receiving the certified results from the Central Elections Committee, and must decide by November 11 whom to task first with forming a government. By convention the candidate with the most recommendations is tasked first and has 28 days, extendable by 14, to build a coalition; the new Knesset is to be sworn in on November 10. Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed. Leading the recommendation count does not guarantee success: Eisenkot's camp remains divided over relying on Arab-party support, and the talks ahead are uncertain.
Source: The Times of Israel
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：以色列 Yashar 党领导人 Gadi Eisenkot（2026年资料照片）。照片：Yahav Trudler（经 Eisenkot 发言人办公室），CC BY-SA，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Israel's Yashar party (2026 file photo). Photo by Yahav Trudler via the Eisenkot spokesperson, CC BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-05Follow-Up: Joint List Backs Eisenkot, Taking His Endorsements to 67 Against Netanyahu's 46This story
