OMM Newsroom
Israel’s new parliament is due to be sworn in on Tuesday, as opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot seeks to replace caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to BBC World.
President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government after he received the backing of 67 members of the 120-seat Knesset, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.
Eisenkot faces a difficult task. His four-party bloc won 48 seats in last month’s election, while Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53, leaving both short of a majority. Eisenkot has 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible two-week extension.
Almost half of the lawmakers taking their seats have not served in the previous parliament. Arab-led parties also won a record number of seats.
The election, widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu, has left uncertainty over who will lead the next government. Netanyahu will remain caretaker prime minister until one is formed, a process that could take days or months.
The United Arab List and the Joint List won a combined 19 seats, an unprecedented result for the two Arab-led alliances, following a surge in turnout among Arab voters.
The Arab parties could hold the balance of power. Netanyahu has ruled out governing with them, while three parties in Eisenkot’s bloc have opposed including them in a coalition.
On Sunday, Herzog asked Eisenkot to try to form a government. Speaking at the president’s residence, the centrist Yashar party leader called for a “national emergency government”, in an implicit appeal for parties to set aside ideological differences to remove Netanyahu from office.
Eisenkot said this would “require creative and unconventional political steps”. He said parties or lawmakers could join his proposed government if they accepted four principles: recognising Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; accepting the values of the Declaration of Independence; supporting mandatory military, national or civilian service for all, including communities currently exempt; and recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation while committing to dismantling its military and governing capabilities.
The principles could pose significant obstacles for potential coalition partners. The conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, who are exempt from military service if they study religion full-time, was a major issue in the election.
The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas parties won 13 seats combined and have strongly opposed attempts to change the status quo. All parties in Eisenkot’s bloc campaigned for such a change.
Eisenkot’s conditions are also contentious for the Arab parties. Both emphasise equal national and civic rights for Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up about 20% of the population. The vast majority of Israeli Arabs are not required to serve in the military, and neither party has publicly recognised Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
The Arab parties could nevertheless help Eisenkot form a minority government. The United Arab List, which won eight seats, has said it is willing to join an Eisenkot-led coalition. The Joint List, which won 11 seats, has offered outside parliamentary support.
Eisenkot would still need to persuade other parties in his bloc to accept such an arrangement. Avigdor Lieberman, whose Yisrael Beiteinu party won seven seats, has so far refused to join a minority government reliant on Arab lawmakers.
The ultra-Orthodox parties would be likely to seek major concessions on military conscription in return for their support, demands that could be unacceptable to most parties in Eisenkot’s bloc.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, reiterated in a video on Monday his call for a national unity government that he would lead as prime minister. He said any Zionist party — one that supports Israel as a Jewish state — including opposition parties, could join.
He warned against a government relying on what he called “the Islamists”, apparently referring to the Arab parties. “You cannot form a government with Hamas supporters,” he said.
