Joint List pledges Eisenkot support as Herzog weighs government choice

Israel’s Joint List said on Thursday, 5 November, that it would ask President Isaac Herzog to give Gadi Eisenkot the chance to form a government. The alliance of Arab-led parties has 11 seats in parliament.

Its pledge follows support from Ra’am, whose eight lawmakers backed the opposition leader on Wednesday. If the Joint List follows through, Eisenkot would have 67 lawmakers recommending him, Middle East Eye reported.

Herzog said he would announce on Sunday whom he would ask to try to form the next government. He spoke after talks with party leaders, according to Middle East Eye.

That choice still rests with the president. A pledge to recommend a candidate does not settle who will join or support a governing coalition.

The election on 27 October left both main blocs short of a majority. Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, including those held by United Torah Judaism. Eisenkot’s bloc won 48.

The Joint List and Ra’am together secured a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. A majority requires 61 votes.

United Torah Judaism told Herzog it would not recommend anyone to form a government. Its seven lawmakers have backed Netanyahu after the past five elections, but the party has not switched to Eisenkot.

The dispute comes amid a row over exemptions from military service for religious students. Netanyahu has kept the exemptions without putting them into law. Eisenkot has said he wants to end them.

Eisenkot also faces hurdles among his own allies over reliance on Arab-led parties. Such a deal could cost him support from figures including Avigdor Liberman.

Herzog accepted the certified election results on Wednesday. The Central Elections Committee found no evidence of fraud, Al Jazeera reported, despite Netanyahu’s claims of foreign interference, for which he offered no evidence.

The person Herzog chooses will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of 14 days.