Arab-led parties back Eisenkot to form Israeli government

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 15:14 · Archive

Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats in Israel's election and say they will recommend opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government.

The Joint List alliance of Arab-led parties announced Thursday that it will recommend opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form Israel's next government, a decision it said it would formally submit to President Isaac Herzog on Thursday evening.

Arab-majority lists won a record 19 seats in last week's election out of Israel's 120-seat parliament. The Joint List holds 11 of those seats, while Ra'am, another Arab-led party, holds eight. With their backing plus other opposition support, Eisenkot is expected to command 67 lawmakers, exceeding the 61-seat majority threshold needed in the Knesset.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats. However, one faction within the ultra-Orthodox bloc, Degel HaTorah with four seats, said it would recommend neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu. According to The Times of Israel, the faction broke with Netanyahu over the coalition's failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service.

Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed without evidence that Arab parties committed election fraud with foreign backing, citing cases including the arrests of three political activists suspected of voter bribery. Ra'am denies involvement in these incidents. Netanyahu and Likud have also suggested that opposition cooperation with Arab parties would be dangerous to Israel, warning that Zionist parties working with the Arab bloc would be 'dangerous to Israel'.

How it is being reported

• Israel's main Arab list backs Eisenkot to form government after electionIsrael's largest Arab party grouping said Thursday it would recommend opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, potentially bolstering his bid after Arab-majority lists won a record 19 seats in last week's election.France 24 · 5 Nov, 14:43
• Joint List says it will back Eisenkot to form Israel’s next governmentArab-led parties won a record 19 seats in Israel's 120-seat parliament in last week's general election.Al Jazeera · 5 Nov, 14:15

In this story: Joint List · Gadi Eisenkot · Isaac Herzog · Benjamin Netanyahu · Ra'am · Israel · Knesset · Likud

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