Israel Elections: Eisenkot vows to use Knesset majority against Netanyahu as Arab leader backs PM's ouster

Amid uncertainty over government formation in Israel after the elections, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot on Saturday (Oct 31) vowed to swiftly exercise the new Knesset’s parliamentary majority, declaring that Israelis voted decisively against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Reports are also indicating that Ra'am and Joint List, the two main Arab parties that together secured 19 seats, may back the Opposition bloc led by Eisenkot in a bid to oust PM Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

In Israel's recently concluded elections, anti-Netanyahu parties won 67 of the Knesset's 120 seats. However, Zionist parties opposed to Netanyahu secured only 48 seats, while two Arab parties won the remaining 19. This complicates Eisenkot's path to the premiership. Netanyahu's outgoing coalition, which secured 53 seats, also fell short of a majority.

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“No matter how you look at the numbers, a majority of Israeli citizens, by a margin of more than half a million votes, voted against the government of October 7 and draft evasion, and in favor of change,” Eisenkot said in a statement. He also vowed to set up a state inquiry commission into the failures behind the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, make military service mandatory for all Israelis and repeal the outgoing government's controversial judicial overhaul laws.

Also Read: Israel election result shows no overall majority

Meanwhile, according to a Times of Israel report, the Joint List is willing to back anti-Netanyahu parties from outside, even though it is doesn't want to actually be part of the government. “We want to help anyone who wants to bring down this awful government… and switch it for a different government. We want to be part of the correction, part of the hope," veteran Arab MK Ahmad Tibi was quoted as saying. The publication identified him as ‘No. 2 on the Joint List’. Jafar Farah, a key figure in the Arab political movement, told The Telegraph that both Ra'am and Joint List are expected to inform Israeli president Isaac Herzog of their willingness to back the Opposition bloc led by Eisenkot. They will recommend Gadi Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff, as the next prime minister, Farah said.