Eisenkot Nears Netanyahu Ouster With 67 Backers
Israel’s opposition on Friday reported progress in its push for a Netanyahu ouster after a key opposition leader softened his opposition to an alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties, potentially opening a path out of the country’s post-election political deadlock.
Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival, said negotiations had produced significant breakthroughs, expressing confidence that President Isaac Herzog would nominate him to form a government when he announces his decision on Sunday.
Eisenkot secured the backing of 67 lawmakers in consultations with Herzog, compared with 46 who endorsed Netanyahu. However, the president said competing demands and mutual vetoes within the political blocs made the outcome uncertain.
The breakthrough came after opposition leader Avigdor Liberman, who had campaigned against exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews, signalled his willingness to negotiate with their political representatives.
How the numbers stack up
The recommendations followed Israel’s October 27 national ballot, which ended with no clear winner. Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot secured a clear path to a majority in parliament, and the consultations with Herzog were meant to settle who should get the first chance to form a government.
Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset against 48 won by Eisenkot’s bloc, but the recommendations told a different story. All Arab-majority parties decided to recommend Eisenkot, giving him the backing of 67 lawmakers in total. Arab parties emerged as kingmakers with a record 19 seats.
Netanyahu received 46 recommendations, down from the 53 seats his bloc was initially expected to command, after longtime ally United Torah Judaism decided not to recommend any candidate.
Herzog said he would hold further talks with party leaders over the weekend before announcing his decision on Sunday. “The results of the consultations may appear clear, but the authority vested in me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear, given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves,” he said.
Once nominated, the candidate will have 28 days to try to forge a government, with a possible 14-day extension. The 67 recommendations for Eisenkot are the largest number given to a candidate since 2015, according to the Times of Israel.
Netanyahu ouster: why a majority may not be enough
Eisenkot’s support comprises 48 lawmakers from the Jewish-led opposition bloc, including his Yashar party, Together, The Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu. The Arab-led Ra’am party contributed eight recommendations, while the Joint List added another 11.
But only 48 of the 67 lawmakers who recommended him are currently prepared to work together without conditions. Several parties backing his candidature have yet to commit to joining an Eisenkot-led coalition, and the anti-Netanyahu parties are split between a 48-member Jewish-led bloc and a 19-member bloc of two Arab-led parties.
Eisenkot has made recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation one of his conditions for parties seeking to join his prospective government, a demand that could complicate talks with the Arab parties whose backing he needs.
The deadlock has already shaped the parliamentary calendar. The new Knesset is due to be sworn in on November 10, and is set to elect a new speaker, ousting the Likud incumbent. Parties aligned with Eisenkot are seeking an early vote to replace Speaker Amir Ohana, who said he would convene such a vote within a week if at least 61 lawmakers formally request one.
A contest with a long build-up
The race to replace Netanyahu has been building for months. Eisenkot’s bid for government won Arab backing earlier in the week, a development that turned the Arab parties into the decisive force in the consultations. Herzog had already urged compromise after the election, and the election commission rejected fraud claims from Netanyahu’s camp.
The standoff has played out against a wider regional crisis. Warnings of a deepening crisis between Israel and the United States have added pressure on Netanyahu, while Gaza’s rubble has reached 68 million tonnes, a measure of the war’s destruction.
For Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, the 67-46 split is the clearest sign yet that his grip on power is slipping. For Eisenkot, a former chief of staff who entered politics promising a different style of leadership, the numbers are a breakthrough, but not yet a government.
Herzog’s announcement on Sunday will show whether the arithmetic of the consultations becomes the arithmetic of a coalition.
Who is Gadi Eisenkot?
Eisenkot is a former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces and leader of the Yashar party. He is Netanyahu’s main rival and the opposition’s candidate to form Israel’s next government.
How many lawmakers backed Eisenkot?
Factions totalling 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members recommended Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog, against 46 for Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the largest number of recommendations given to a candidate since 2015.
When will Herzog announce his decision?
President Isaac Herzog said he would task a member of the Knesset with forming a government on Sunday, after holding further talks with party leaders over the weekend.
How long does the nominee have to form a government?
The candidate tasked with forming a government gets 28 days to put together a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension at the president’s discretion.
