Eisenkot secures 67 recommendations to form Israeli government
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Camer.be
The United Arab List is recommending Gadi Eisenkot to form Israel’s next government, bringing the number of MPs backing his candidacy to 67 out of 120. The support exceeds the 61-seat majority but does not yet constitute a coalition, according to Camer.be.
The United Arab List, Israel’s main Arab-majority political grouping, announced on Thursday 5 November that it was recommending Gadi Eisenkot to form the next Israeli government, according to Camer.be. With its 11 MPs, it brings the number of recommendations in favour of the former army chief of staff to 67, six more than the 61-seat majority in the Knesset.
The 27 October election gave Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats, the opposition’s Jewish parties backing Eisenkot 48 and Arab parties 19, compared with 10 in 2022. The Raam party, led by Mansour Abbas, had already given its eight recommendations to Eisenkot.
These recommendations do not constitute a government coalition. They are intended to guide President Isaac Herzog, who has until 11 November to designate the MP tasked with forming a government. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, for its part, refused to recommend Netanyahu, bringing his declared support down to 46.
The decision comes after consultations were launched by Isaac Herzog to form the Israeli government on 4 November, and after the opposition officially backed Eisenkot to replace Netanyahu on 3 November.
