JERUSALEM, November 6 (Aalimi Nation) – Israel's two main Arab-majority parties have recommended opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as the person to form the next government, giving the former army chief the largest number of recommendations after the latest election.
The Joint List, which holds 11 seats, said in a statement on Thursday that it would inform the president of its decision that evening. Ra'am, which holds eight seats, had backed Eisenkot earlier in the day, bringing the Arab-majority lists' record total to 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
Herzog held two days of consultations with party leaders after official results were announced, and met Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately at his Jerusalem residence on Thursday night. Neither man has a majority of seats on his own. By convention, the mandate usually goes to the candidate recommended by the most parties, though the president makes the final decision. Reports said Herzog is expected to announce his choice on Sunday. A nominee then has 28 days to form a government, extendable by 14.
Ultra-Orthodox bloc declines to back Netanyahu
The result was also shaped by United Torah Judaism, which won seven seats. The party, which had recommended Netanyahu after each of the previous five elections, told Herzog it had decided not to recommend any member of the Knesset to form a government. It did not back Eisenkot either.
The dispute centres on military service exemptions for religious students. A UTJ lawmaker, Isaac Pindrus, said that in whatever government is formed next, "our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students." Eisenkot has said he wants to end the exemptions.
The endorsements do not commit the Arab parties to joining a coalition. The Joint List said the opposition camp led by Eisenkot had not yet shown the willingness needed to confront Netanyahu's path.
Several Jewish opposition politicians, however, have said they will not sit with Arab parties, and Eisenkot has said his government would not depend on them. The former aide to Netanyahu turned critic Avigdor Liberman is among those whose support could be at risk if Arab parties are brought in, according to political observers.
Another sticking point is Hamas. Eisenkot has made it a condition that coalition partners explicitly describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas said Hamas should be disarmed and removed from power and that all armed groups should give up their weapons, but he did not use the term. When Herzog pressed him on the point, Abbas asked the president to "leave me some room to protect myself and my family, too."
Netanyahu has not been reported to have responded directly to the endorsements, but he has repeatedly criticised the opposition over the prospect of an alliance with Arab lawmakers. In a video released on Wednesday, he alleged "serious suspicions" that foreign powers had put money into the election and questioned the loyalty of Arab citizens.
If Herzog gives Eisenkot the mandate, the weeks of coalition bargaining ahead will test whether his bloc can assemble 61 seats without the ultra-Orthodox parties, and whether the Arab parties can be brought in on terms acceptable to all sides.
