Decision on Who Will Form Israel’s Government to be Announced Tomorrow

Political tension is escalating over the formation of a new government following Israel’s 26th Knesset (parliamentary) elections. Lawmakers are favoring Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition party ‘Yashar’, as the next prime minister. Out of 120 Knesset members, 67 have expressed support for him, while current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received support from 46 members.

However, despite receiving majority support from lawmakers, Eisenkot’s government formation is not yet certain. President Isaac Herzog will formally announce his decision on Sunday (November 8) regarding who will be tasked with forming the government.

Following discussions with representatives of political parties on Thursday (November 5), Herzog stated that 67 lawmakers have endorsed Eisenkot and 46 have supported Netanyahu. The Yashar party has noted that this is the highest number of endorsements for a prime ministerial candidate since 2015.

However, according to Herzog, even though Eisenkot leads in support numbers, the capacity to form a government is not yet clear due to mutual conflicts among various political parties and the conditions for coalition formation.

Among Eisenkot’s 67 supporters, 48 are from four Jewish-led parties, and the remaining 19 are members of two Arab-led parties, Ra’am and the Joint List. While this support theoretically ensures a majority, forming a coalition in practice is quite challenging.

This is because several Jewish-led parties are unwilling to govern with Arab parties. Furthermore, there are significant political and ideological differences with the Arab parties. Consequently, there is uncertainty whether all parties supporting Eisenkot will ultimately join his cabinet.

Meanwhile, a shift in the position of Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the secular party Yisrael Beiteinu, has created a new political dynamic. Previously unwilling to join coalitions with religious parties, he has now shown interest in a compromise with the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) to remove Netanyahu from power.

Conversely, Netanyahu’s long-time coalition partner, UTJ, did not convey its support for him to the President this time. This has weakened Netanyahu’s political standing and opened up new possibilities for Eisenkot.

New Knesset members are scheduled to be sworn in on November 10. Following this, new political activity for changing the Speaker of Parliament and other key positions may begin. Discussions for early elections are also ongoing among opposition parties.

On the other hand, Netanyahu’s Likud party has labeled the potential opposition coalition as a ‘disaster coalition’. While Likud has proposed forming a national unity government, the opposition has rejected the possibility of forming a new coalition with Netanyahu.

Overall, while Eisenkot is ahead in the race to form Israel’s next government, significant obstacles remain due to political mistrust and disagreements among parties. President Herzog’s decision on Sunday will clarify who gets the first opportunity to form the new government.

Source: Times of Israel

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