In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu Faces Ouster as Arab-Led Parties Back Gadi Eisenkot to Form Government

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staring at a historic political defeat after Israel’s major Arab political factions threw their weight behind opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. The pivotal endorsements put Eisenkot well ahead in the race to form the next government, setting up a high-stakes transition of power in the Knesset.

The breakthrough came as President Isaac Herzog held formal consultations with political parties to decide who should be tasked with forming a ruling coalition following the inconclusive October 27 general election.

The Numbers Game in the Knesset

In the 120-seat Israeli parliament, any aspiring coalition builder needs a magic number of 61 seats to establish a majority. Following the recent polls, neither side secured an outright victory on their own:

• Netanyahu's Bloc: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party emerged as the largest single party with 27 seats, but his broader right-wing and religious alliance stalled at 58 seats (with some counts placing his immediate bloc at 53).
• Eisenkot’s Bloc: The opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats.
  
  

The deadlock was broken when Arab-led parties swept a record 19 seats in the parliament. On Thursday, both the Joint List—representing 11 seats—and the Ra'am party, led by Mansour Abbas with 8 seats, formally announced their decision to inform President Herzog that they recommend Eisenkot to form the next government.

With these crucial endorsements, Eisenkot commands the backing of 67 members of the Knesset, catapulting him past Netanyahu and firmly into position to receive the presidential mandate.

A Seismic Shift in Israeli Politics

The decision by Arab-led factions to back Eisenkot marks a dramatic twist, particularly given Eisenkot’s prior public stance. During a September interview, the Yashar party leader had maintained that Arab or ultra-Orthodox factions would not be part of his immediate coalition calculations.

However, the parliamentary math has forced a pragmatic realignment. While Netanyahu has sharply criticized any reliance on Arab parties, accusing opponents of undermining Israel's Jewish identity, the opposition bloc's path forward increasingly relies on outside backing or direct inclusion of minority representatives.

President Herzog has until November 11 to conclude consultations and formally designate a lawmaker to form the government. The chosen candidate will then have 28 days—with a potential 14-day extension—to build a functioning administration and survive a confidence vote in the Knesset, threatening to bring an end to Netanyahu’s long-tenured rule.