Israeli opposition convenes as Netanyahu insists voters still support him

Israel’s political stalemate is heading into a decisive new round, with opposition leaders set to gather behind former military chief Gadi Eisenkot even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses for a sweeping coalition under his own command.

The meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, will be the first sit-down for the wide-ranging opposition alliance since last week’s razor-thin election ended without a governing majority for either side.

Mr Eisenkot’s Yashar party said the heads of the so-called change bloc will convene in Herzliya tomorrow morning “to discuss coordinating the bloc’s next steps.”

In the vote, Mr Eisenkot’s bloc took 48 seats, while Mr Netanyahu’s camp won 53, including 27 held by his Likud party.

Arab-majority lists captured a record 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, a result that gives them potential kingmaker status as coalition arithmetic tightens.

Mr Netanyahu has urged the creation of a “broad national government” that would exclude the Arab parties, arguing that as leader of the largest single party he should be tasked with forming the next coalition.

“A clear majority of the Jewish public chose Likud as the largest party and chose me, as prime minister, to lead the next government,” he said in a statement posted to Likud’s Telegram channel.

“We seek to establish a broad government with our partners and with any party that wishes to join and does not support terrorism,” he added.

He dismissed the prospect of relying on Arab-majority lists, saying: “The public in Israel does not want a government that depends on… parties that support terrorism and deny the existence of the Jewish state.”

For now, little has emerged publicly from the negotiations taking place out of sight as both camps test possible combinations.

Even with sharp internal differences on key issues, every party leader in Mr Eisenkot’s bloc has said they will recommend him to form the next government.

On the Arab side, the lists have signalled they could back Mr Eisenkot.

But the question of whether the opposition should accept support from the Arab lists has become one of its most sensitive fault lines.

Inside Mr Eisenkot’s camp, Democrats leader Yair Golan, who is left-leaning, has openly pushed for partnership with the Arab lists.

By contrast, Avigdor Lieberman — the right-wing head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party — remains firmly against such a move.

Mr Eisenkot’s party, without stating it outright, appears to be closing the door on the idea.

Naftali Bennett’s centre-right Together party has not made its position clear.

Under Israel’s established process, the president typically asks the candidate who receives the most recommendations to try to form a government, factoring in the size of the parties offering their support.

In Mr Netanyahu’s camp, media reports say his far-right partners are expected to recommend the veteran premier, along with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

The position of the other ultra-Orthodox party remains uncertain.

President Isaac Herzog is due to begin consultations with party representatives on Wednesday.

He has seven days to decide whom to nominate, a deadline that runs until 11 November.

Once selected, the nominee gets 28 days to assemble a coalition, with the option of a 14-day extension.

If that effort collapses, the president can turn to another candidate, who would also be given 28 days to try to build a governing majority.

Should a second attempt fail as well, a bloc of 61 politicians can request that the president assign a third candidate.

If no such request succeeds within 14 days, parliament is dissolved and the country returns to the polls for new elections.