Israel's opposition unites behind Eisenkot as Netanyahu stakes his claim

Israel's opposition finally has a name to rally around. Party chiefs in the change bloc will meet Tuesday morning in Herzliya — their first sit-down since last week's nail-biter election — after all of them endorsed former military chief Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister. His Yashar party says the huddle is about coordinating the bloc's next moves.

The numbers explain the scramble. Eisenkot's side took 48 seats, Netanyahu's camp 53, with 27 of those going to Likud. Arab-majority lists grabbed a record 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, turning them into potential kingmakers with no majority in sight for anyone.

Netanyahu made his pitch on Monday, saying he should lead the next coalition as head of the biggest party. In a statement on Likud's Telegram channel, he argued a clear majority of the Jewish public picked Likud and picked him, and called for a broad national government open to any partner that doesn't back terrorism. He ruled out sitting with the Arab-majority lists, accusing them of supporting terrorism and denying the Jewish state's existence.

Those lists aren't waiting quietly. Their leaders unanimously condemned Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack but stopped short of calling the group a terror organisation; Raam's chief has recognised Israel as a Jewish state while others reject the label. In interviews with AFP before the vote, the heads of the two Arab-majority lists shared one goal: toppling what they call a racist government.

Inside Eisenkot's camp, the Arab question is the fault line. Yair Golan, who leads the left-leaning Democrats, wants a partnership with the Arab lists; Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu is dead set against it. Yashar appears to have ruled the idea out without quite saying so, and Naftali Bennett's centre-right Together party hasn't shown its hand.

Now it's Isaac Herzog's call. The president starts consultations with party representatives Wednesday and has seven days — until November 11 — to tap a candidate, factoring in the weight of each party. That pick gets 28 days, extendable by 14, to build a coalition. Fail, and Herzog can hand the job to someone else on the same clock; if that also collapses, 61 lawmakers can ask for a third candidate, and without one inside 14 days parliament dissolves and Israelis head back to the polls.