Israel’s opposition leaders back Eisenkot to oust Netanyahu

Opposition promises to form a government quickly but remains split over whether to ally with Arab-led parties.

Gadi Eisenkot waves Israel's national flag upon his arrival at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Tel Aviv [File: AFP]

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.

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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The agreement comes a day before President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with parties on who should form the next government.

But the bloc remains divided over whether to ally with Arab-led parties, whose support could prove decisive.

‘National emergency government’

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.

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.

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.

Israeli left-wing activists hold placards during a demonstration outside the home of Gadi Eisenkot in Herzliya calling for the formation of a government that includes Arab-led parties [File: AFP]

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. A majority requires 61 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.

Golan is the only opposition leader openly backing an alliance with Arab-led parties, saying it is racist to exclude 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.

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.

Liberman has firmly opposed including Arab-led parties, although he also wants to avoid another 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.

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.

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. They make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population.

Palestinian candidate Yousef Jabareen of the Joint List party speaks as he reacts to exit polls during Israel’s national election, at the party election headquarters in Nazareth, northern Israel [File: Jamal Awad/Reuters]

Netanyahu seeks ‘broad national government’

On Monday, Netanyahu called for a “broad national government” under his leadership, saying his Likud party, with 27 seats, remained the largest. No opposition leader has expressed openness to joining 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.

More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel began its war in October 2023.

Herzog will hold consultations on Wednesday and Thursday. Eisenkot could receive the most recommendations if he secures the backing of Arab lawmakers.

反对派承诺尽快组建政府，但在是否与阿拉伯政党结盟的问题上仍存在分歧。

在特拉维夫，首批出口民调结果公布后，加迪·艾森科特抵达选举之夜集会现场，挥舞着以色列国旗。[图片：法新社]

以色列反对派领导人已同意支持前军事首长加迪·艾森科特担任总理，并承诺尽快取代本杰明·内塔尼亚胡的政府。

周二，五个政党的领导人在特拉维夫以北的赫兹利亚市举行了自 10 月 27 日选举以来的首次联合会议。此次选举中，没有一个联盟在拥有 120 个席位的以色列议会中获得多数席位。

巴勒斯坦周刊（共四期，此为第一期）：选举僵局叠加西岸围困和加沙屠杀

美国袭击格什姆岛（共四项）之二，佩泽什基扬暗示将采取更多外交手段：伊朗战争最新进展

伊朗指挥官列出的四项地区安全条件之三（共四项）

特朗普称美国将在年底后停止向以色列提供援助（共4条，此为第4条）

该协议达成的前一天，总统艾萨克·赫尔佐格将开始与各党派磋商，商讨下一届政府的组建事宜。

但该集团在是否与阿拉伯政党结盟的问题上仍存在分歧，而这些阿拉伯政党的支持可能起到决定性作用。

“国家紧急状态政府”

各国领导人在一份联合声明中表示，他们各自的政党都将向赫尔佐格推荐亚沙尔党领导人艾森科特，谈判团队将立即开始起草政策指导方针和联盟协议。

声明称：“各党派领导人已达成协调，将立即采取行动，以国家紧急政府取代‘10月7日政府’。”

据《耶路撒冷邮报》报道，此次会议汇聚了艾森科特、前总理纳夫塔利·贝内特、以色列贝特努党领导人阿维格多·利伯曼、民主党人亚伊尔·戈兰以及未来党领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德。

领导人坚持艾森科特提出的四项原则，其中包括所有执政党承认以色列为犹太国家，并将哈马斯列为恐怖组织，这些条件可能会将一些阿拉伯领导的政党排除在外。

“我们没有时间了——我们必须立即采取行动，”贝内特告诉记者，他的政党位列第三。

以色列左翼活动人士在赫兹利亚加迪·艾森科特家门外举行示威活动，举着标语牌，呼吁组建一个由阿拉伯政党领导的政府。[图片：法新社]

阿拉伯政党掌握着平衡力量。

内塔尼亚胡领导的联盟赢得53个席位，反对派赢得48个席位，阿拉伯政党赢得19个席位，联合名单赢得11个席位，拉姆党赢得8个席位。多数席位需要61个。

下届议会中最大的阿拉伯政党领导人优素福·贾巴林表示，反对派需要接受“政治现实”，并联合起来罢免内塔尼亚胡。

戈兰是唯一一位公开支持与阿拉伯政党结盟的反对派领导人，他表示将阿拉伯政党排除在外是种族主义行为。

在会谈之前，他会见了阿拉伯政党的领导人，并承诺解决以色列巴勒斯坦公民在其社区面临的高犯罪率问题。

随后，双方在一份声明中强调了他们的“共同利益，即利用议会多数席位推翻内塔尼亚胡-本-格维尔-斯莫特里奇政府并取而代之”。

利伯曼坚决反对阿拉伯政党参与选举，尽管他也希望避免再次举行选举。

以色列的阿拉伯少数族裔人口长期以来在政治上被边缘化，自哈马斯领导的 10 月 7 日袭击事件和以色列对加沙发动种族灭绝战争以来，这种情况更加严重。

至少有两名巴勒斯坦前政治家和一名现任以色列议会议员因发表被认为批评以色列在加沙实施种族灭绝和占领西岸的言论或行为而被短暂逮捕。

以色列的阿拉伯公民是巴勒斯坦人的后裔，他们在1948年“灾难日”（Nakba）之后设法留在了新成立的以色列国境内。他们约占以色列人口的20%。

巴勒斯坦联合名单党候选人优素福·贾巴林在以色列北部城市拿撒勒的党内竞选总部，就以色列全国大选的出口民调结果发表讲话。[图片：Jamal Awad/路透社]

内塔尼亚胡寻求建立“广泛的民族政府”

周一，内塔尼亚胡呼吁组建一个由他领导的“广泛的民族联合政府”，并表示他领导的利库德集团拥有27个席位，仍然是最大的政党。目前尚无反对党领导人表示愿意加入他的政府。

他排除了与阿拉伯人占多数的政党联盟组建联盟的可能性，声称他们“支持恐怖主义，否认犹太国家的存在”。

现年 76 岁的内塔尼亚胡是以色列任期最长的总理，他因腐败指控受审，并因涉嫌在加沙犯下战争罪和反人类罪而被国际刑事法院通缉。

自以色列于 2023 年 10 月发动战争以来，已有超过 74,000 名巴勒斯坦人在飞地丧生。

赫尔佐格将于周三和周四举行磋商。如果艾森科特能获得阿拉伯议员的支持，他可能会获得最多的推荐。