Israel’s opposition leaders have agreed to back former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister, promising to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as quickly as possible.
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leaders → agree → government
The five party heads met on Tuesday in the city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, in their first joint meeting since the October 27 election, which left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
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which → meet → Knesset
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The agreement comes a day before President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with parties on who should form the next government.
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who → set → government
But the bloc remains divided over whether to ally with Arab-led parties, whose support could prove decisive.
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support → remain → parties
In a joint statement, the leaders said all their parties would recommend Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, to Herzog, and that negotiating teams would immediately begin drafting policy guidelines and coalition agreements.
“The party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the ‘Oct. 7 government’ with a national emergency government,” the statement said.
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statement → say → government
The meeting brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party, according to The Jerusalem Post.
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who → bring → Post
The leaders stood by four principles set out by Eisenkot, including that all parties in government recognise Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a terrorist group, conditions that could exclude some Arab-led parties.
“We don’t have time – we must act with great urgency,” Bennett, whose party came third, told reporters.
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party → stand → reporters
Arab parties hold the balance
Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, the opposition 48, and Arab-led parties 19, with the Joint List taking 11 and Ra’am eight.
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Ra’am → hold → 11
A majority requires 61 seats.
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majority → require → seats
Yousef Jabareen, head of the largest Arab-led party in the next parliament, said the opposition needed to accept “political reality” and join forces to remove Netanyahu.
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opposition → lead → Netanyahu
Golan is the only opposition leader openly backing an alliance with Arab-led parties, saying it is racist to exclude them.
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it → back → them
He met the leaders of Arab-led parties before the talks and promised to tackle high crime faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel in their communities.
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He → meet → communities
Afterwards, the two sides stressed their “shared interest in using the parliamentary majority to bring down the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir-Smotrich government and replace it”, according to a statement.
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sides → stress → statement
Liberman has firmly opposed including Arab-led parties, although he also wants to avoid another election.
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he → oppose → election
Israel’s minority Arab population has long been marginalised in politics, and even more so since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7 and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
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population → marginalise → Gaza
At least two former Palestinian politicians and one current member of the Knesset have been arrested briefly for comments or acts deemed critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.
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politicians → arrest → Bank
Arab citizens of Israel are descendants of Palestinians who managed to remain within the borders of the newly established Israeli state in 1948 after the Nakba, or catastrophe.
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who → manage → Nakba
They make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population.
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They → make → population
Netanyahu seeks ‘broad national government’
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Netanyahu → seek → government
On Monday, Netanyahu called for a “broad national government” under his leadership, saying his Likud party, with 27 seats, remained the largest.
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party → call → seats
No opposition leader has expressed openness to joining him.
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leader → express → him
He has ruled out a coalition with Arab-majority lists, alleging they “support terrorism and deny the existence of the Jewish state”.
Netanyahu, 76, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is on trial on corruption charges and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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Netanyahu → rule → Gaza
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel began its war in October 2023.
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Israel → kill → October
Herzog will hold consultations on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Herzog → hold → Wednesday
Eisenkot could receive the most recommendations if he secures the backing of Arab lawmakers.
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he → receive → lawmakers
The Aporia
