Israel's opposition puts Eisenkot forward as Netanyahu seeks to lead a broad government himself
A week after the election no bloc has a majority; the Arab parties, with a record number of seats, hold the key, and President Herzog begins his consultations on Wednesday.
The parties seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet today in Herzliya for the first time since the parliamentary election of 27 October, RTBF and La DH report, citing AFP. Netanyahu's coalition won 53 of the 120 seats, the camp around centrist Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party 48. A majority requires 61 seats. All parties in the opposition bloc say they will nominate Eisenkot as prime minister.
The Arab lists Raam and the Unified List together won a record 19 seats, making them indispensable to any majority. Their leader Youssef Jabareen is urging the opposition to work with them, 20 minutes writes. Opinions within the opposition are divided: left-winger Yair Golan is in favour, right-winger Avigdor Liberman is firmly against. Netanyahu wants a broad government under his leadership without the Arab parties, which he accuses of supporting terrorism. They deny this.
President Isaac Herzog will receive the parties from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday evening, starting with the smallest, and must name a candidate by 11 November. Eisenkot is seen as the favourite, while the parties of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir and, according to AFP, also Shas are expected to back Netanyahu. The nominee will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a government. If no one succeeds, the Knesset will be dissolved and new elections held within 90 days.