OMM Newsroom
Israeli opposition leaders agreed on Tuesday to recommend Yashar party head Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog to form the next government, vowing to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration with a “national emergency government”, Anadolu Agency reported.
The agreement followed a joint meeting of opposition party leaders in Herzliya, in west-central Israel, ahead of consultations due to begin at Herzog’s residence on Wednesday.
According to a statement, all parties that took part will recommend Eisenkot to Herzog. Their negotiating teams will immediately begin drafting policy guidelines and coalition agreements needed to establish a new cabinet.
“The party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the ‘Oct. 7 government’ with a national emergency government,” the parties said. They added that they would seek to secure a “clear parliamentary majority” in the Knesset.
The leaders also discussed steps to be taken during the first days of the new Knesset to form a government and avoid another election, the statement said.
Tuesday’s gathering was the opposition leaders’ first joint meeting since the Oct. 27 elections. It brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of the Together party, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats and opposition leader Yair Lapid, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Opposition falls short of a Knesset majority
The elections left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition secured 48 seats and Arab parties won 19.
The opposition remains short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority on its own, making support from Arab lawmakers potentially decisive in efforts to form a government.
