Election in Israel | Eisenkot and Netanyahu both want to govern

Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israeli chief of staff and leader of the Jashar party, wants to form a new government - like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa Tel Aviv.  After the narrow outcome of the parliamentary elections in Israel, both blocs claimed the right to form a government. Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the main opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot announced on Wednesday that they wanted to form a new government. However, both blocs missed the required majority of 61 seats. According to forecasts, they were tied. On the other hand, the two lists of Arab citizens recorded significant gains - they could now become kingmakers. 

According to election authorities, voter turnout in Israel's first parliamentary election since the 2023 Hamas attack was almost 78 percent - the highest since 1999. Around 7.3 million people were eligible to vote, including two million Arab Israelis. According to estimates, tens of thousands of Israelis traveled specifically from abroad.

The vote is seen as a directional choice in the heavily divided country. The most important topics in the election were coming to terms with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, radical settlers and violence in the West Bank, and military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The time to act is “now,” said Eilana Zisblit to the AFP news agency. The 55-year-old traveled from Canada to cast her vote for Eisenkot's Jashar party. Otherwise, “the country will actually no longer survive.”

Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving head of government. With his current coalition of right-wing extremist and ultra-religious parties, he has moved the country significantly to the right. In front of his supporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the 77-year-old expressed his confidence that he would continue to lead the government in the future. 

Although Netanyahu did not explicitly declare himself the winner of the election, he did point to the Likud's performance as the strongest individual party. "We have to form a strong right-wing government," he said. 

He also spoke out against any "government with the support of the Israeli Arabs" whose parties had made massive gains in the election. No head of government should be “reliant on the support of Israeli Arabs,” said Netanyahu. "A government supported by Arab parties is out of the question."

Netanyahu also referred to his close ties with US President Donald Trump. "Israel, together with our partner, President Trump, has a unique opportunity to eliminate the existential threat from Iran forever," he said.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, Eisenkot sent an indirect warning to Netanyahu. "Netanyahu, don't you dare abuse Israel's security for your political purposes," the center-right candidate said in a speech to his supporters in Tel Aviv early Wednesday morning. Observers suspect that Netanyahu could use a war to promote the formation of a unity government. However, Eisenkot described Netanyahu as a "caretaker prime minister who has neither a mandate nor the trust of the people."

"The people have spoken out against a continuation of Netanyahu's term in office," he said, adding: "A leader with integrity would accept this vote of no confidence from the people and announce her withdrawal from political life today." The people of Israel have "decided for change." He himself will now try to form a new government “quickly”. 

After the election, it is now becoming difficult to form a government. The parties of Arab-Israeli citizens are likely to play a decisive role in this. 

Both the United List and Raam performed significantly better than expected. In some Arab-Israeli communities, voter turnout was close to 100 percent.

Support from the Arab parties could pave the way for the opposition to power. However, Eisenkot had not yet publicly stated that he would work with them.

Raam leader Mansur Abbas spoke of a “serious defeat” for the right-wing camp. He also appeared open to working with Eisenkot. 

According to experts, Arab MPs could support a minority government without becoming part of a coalition. If this does not succeed, new elections could be held in Israel.

However, Eisenkot rejected such a step. "In an election with such a high turnout, it would be a mistake to seek another election," he said. 

Meanwhile, the right-wing extremist hardliner Itamar Ben Gwir Netanyahu warned against a unity government with iron shit. This would be a "fatal mistake," said the security minister, whose Otzma Jehudit party received fewer votes than expected according to post-election surveys and might be left out in such a scenario. 

According to political scientist Gideon Rahat from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ben Gwir succeeded in mobilizing voters - but Arab Israelis. However, he added: "Even if Netanyahu lost, that doesn't mean that Eisenkot won."  AFP/nd

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