Israeli opposition unites behind Eisenkot as Netanyahu claims voter mandate

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 3 Nov, 09:22 · Archive

Israel's opposition parties have endorsed Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister after an election that left neither camp with a majority.

Israel's opposition parties convened on Tuesday for the first time since last week's election, with all parties in Eisenkot's change bloc endorsing him for prime minister. The election delivered no majority for either camp: Eisenkot's alliance won 48 seats while Netanyahu's right-wing coalition secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with Netanyahu's Likud party holding 27 of those.

Arab-majority lists achieved a record 19 seats, potentially making them kingmakers in any coalition negotiations. The opposition's key challenge will be whether to unite with these Arab parties to form a government.

Netanyahu, the incumbent prime minister, has called for a broad national coalition under his leadership, explicitly excluding Arab parties. He argued that as head of the largest party, he should lead the next government. 'A clear majority of the Jewish public chose Likud as the largest party and chose me, as prime minister, to lead the next government,' Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israeli opposition unites behind Eisenkot as Netanyahu claims voter mandate — Image: France 24

Comments (0)

How it is being reported

Israeli opposition unites behind Eisenkot as Netanyahu says voters chose him for PMIsrael's opposition is on Tuesday due to meet for the first time since last week's closely contested election in which neither Gadi Esenkot's change bloc nor incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance managed to win a majority in the Knesset. All parties in Eisenkot's camp have endorsed him to be the next prime minister, but the hot-button issue will be whether to unite with the Arab parties who made surprise gains in the vote.France 24 · 3 Nov, 09:03
Israel opposition meets to back Eisenkot, but Netanyahu says voters chose himEisenkot's bloc won 48 seats while Netanyahu's camp secured 53, of which 27 are from his Likud party.The Japan Times · 3 Nov, 00:36

In this story: Gadi Eisenkot · Benjamin Netanyahu · Israel · Likud · Knesset

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log