Editorial Faultline AI Desk
Arab alliance backs Eisenkot to form Israeli government
The Joint List's endorsement gives opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the support of 67 lawmakers, placing him ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu.
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On Thursday, the Joint List, the largest alliance of Arab parties in Israel, announced it recommends opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming the next government. This decision gives Eisenkot a lead over incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in parliamentary support.
Parliamentary balance of power
The decision follows a similar recommendation by Ra’am, another Palestinian party in Israel, according to reports from Morning Star and Middle East Eye. Middle East Eye reports that this endorsement brings the total number of lawmakers backing Eisenkot to 67 in the 120-seat Knesset.
The 19 seats held by Arab parties currently hold the balance of power, as both the Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu blocs are short of a majority. President Isaac Herzog will now ask the candidate he deems most likely to assemble a majority to attempt to form a government, a process that allows the candidate 28 days to succeed.
The Joint List includes Hadash, which Morning Star describes as an alliance led by the Communist Party of Israel and the country’s only party with both Jewish and Palestinian members. The alliance won 11 Knesset seats in last month’s election.
Political accusations and turnout
The political shift comes amid intense disputes over the election's legitimacy. While President Herzog has declared he accepts the elections’ legitimacy, Morning Star reports that Netanyahu had attempted to claim the election was "stolen" by Arab parties due to an unusually high turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The Netanyahu camp has alleged foreign interference, claiming on Wednesday that Hadash MP Ayman Odeh received "hundreds of thousands of shekels from a foreign entity." In response, Odeh stated that the historic turnout of Arab citizens has driven Netanyahu and the fascists crazy, and that the fear of losing power is causing them to "shoot in all directions," calling the allegations political persecution.
Challenges to coalition building
Despite the parliamentary numbers, forming a stable government will involve difficult negotiations. Morning Star reports that a majority of the parties backing Eisenkot are themselves pledged against working with Arab parties and support the continued occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine.
The tension between political maneuvering and ground realities is evident in the West Bank. Morning Star reports that armed settlers took over eight Palestinian homes near Jericho today, forcing resident families out and battering down doors. While locals claimed these incursions were coordinated with the Israeli army, the army has denied this.
In our assessment, while the Joint List's move provides Eisenkot with a significant mathematical advantage, the deep ideological divisions regarding the occupation and the status of Arab parties suggest that any potential government will face immediate and severe instability.
This piece was generated automatically by an AI model from the sources listed below. It has not been reviewed by a human editor.
Sources
Original reporting by Faultline / Kommando 161 — share it freely.