Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar Party and former IDF Chief of General Staff, delivers a speech at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 28, 2026. [Nir Keidar – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot received recommendations from 67 lawmakers, a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, after the Arab Joint List formally informed President Isaac Herzog on Thursday that it recommends him to form the next government, Anadolu reports.
The Joint List conveyed its recommendation during consultations with Herzog at the Israeli President’s Residence. The delegation included Joint List Chairman Yousef Jabareen, Ahmad Tibi, Bakr Awawdeh, Ofer Cassif, and Maha Sabah Karkabi.
“We have decided to endorse Gadi Eisenkot,” the Joint List said.
“We reached this decision unanimously, following consultations among the parties that make up the Joint List. It was not an easy decision,” it added.
“Despite our determination to oust Netanyahu, the opposition camp led by Eisenkot has yet to demonstrate the necessary willingness to confront Netanyahu’s policies, combat incitement against Arab citizens, and challenge efforts to undermine the legitimacy of their political choices,” the Joint List stated.
The Joint List said its decision to recommend Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, was aimed at preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government from returning to power.
During the consultations, Tibi said the Joint List was prepared to support an alternative government from outside the governing coalition.
He said this was the Joint List’s decision and expressed pride in Arab citizens who took part in the elections despite what he described as incitement and racism.
Jabareen urged Herzog to take a greater role in confronting incitement against Arab citizens.
He said the Joint List does not believe in military solutions and stressed that the principle of equality contained in Israel’s Declaration of Independence should be translated into reality in daily life.
Cassif raised the issue of Israeli occupier violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, accusing the Israeli government of supporting and financing such attacks.
Awawdeh also raised the issue of violence and crime within Arab society as well as the housing crisis, while Karkabi said Arab citizens want to replace the current government because they feel they face an “existential threat.”
With the Joint List’s 11 lawmakers formally recommending Eisenkot, the number of lawmakers backing his nomination rose to 67, compared with 46 who recommended Netanyahu.
United Torah Judaism, a Netanyahu ally holding seven seats, declined to recommend either candidate.
The Oct. 27 elections left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats, while Jewish opposition parties secured 48 seats and Arab-led parties won 19.
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Ra’am, which holds eight seats, had already announced its support for Eisenkot.
During Ra’am’s consultations at the Israeli President’s Residence, party leader Mansour Abbas said: “Arab society, myself on an individual level, and Arab citizens – we are a bridge.”
The recommendations do not themselves constitute a governing coalition but are considered by President Herzog when deciding which lawmaker to task with forming a government.
Although Eisenkot’s 67 recommendations exceed the 61-seat majority threshold in the Knesset, they do not guarantee that he will be able to form a government capable of winning parliamentary confidence.
Representatives of the 11 parties elected in the Oct. 27 elections have been meeting Herzog individually for a second day to submit their recommendations for who should be tasked with forming the government.
Herzog is expected to conclude the consultations Thursday evening. He received the official election results Wednesday and, under Israeli law, has seven days from their publication to task a Knesset member with forming a government.
The designated lawmaker is given 28 days to form a government, with the president able to grant an extension of up to 14 additional days.
If that effort fails, Herzog may task another lawmaker with forming a government within 28 days, without an extension, or inform the Knesset speaker that he sees no possibility of forming one.
If a second attempt also fails, a 21-day period begins during which a majority of Knesset members may request that another lawmaker be tasked with forming a government. That lawmaker would then have 14 days to do so.
If all legal procedures are exhausted without a government winning the Knesset’s confidence, the Knesset is dissolved and new elections are held.
Opposition parties have also agreed to coordinate efforts to form a new government and begin negotiations on policy guidelines and coalition agreements.
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