Arab parties support Eisenkot amid Hamas dispute, coalition talks continue
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Arab parties have endorsed former army general Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister, but disagreements over Hamas threaten to stall coalition formation.
Arab parties announced their support for former army general Gadi Eisenkot to become Israel's next prime minister, while a disagreement over Hamas could jeopardise the coalition process.
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas told President Isaac Herzog that Hamas should be disarmed and removed from power, but he stopped short of labeling the group a terrorist organisation. Abbas said he wants "all armed groups" to give up their weapons and asked Herzog to "leave me some room to protect myself and my family, too" when pressed on the Hamas question.
Eisenkot has made the explicit condemnation of Hamas a condition for any prospective coalition, putting him at odds with Abbas's more cautious wording. The standoff raises concerns about the opposition bloc's ability to secure a majority, as Eisenkot relies on Arab parties after a record Arab turnout and a weaker showing from the Jewish opposition in the recent elections.
Despite some Israeli politicians' refusal to sit with Arab parties, both Ra’am and the Joint List have indicated willingness to join a government led by Eisenkot. The Joint List confirmed its nomination of Eisenkot shortly after Ra’am did, giving him a majority of party recommendations and increasing the likelihood that President Herzog will task him with forming a government.
In a separate development, United Torah Judaism, a key ultra-Orthodox party and longtime ally of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to recommend any candidate. President Herzog is scheduled to meet Eisenkot and Netanyahu separately on Thursday night, concluding a series of party consultations that began after the election results were certified. If appointed, Eisenkot would have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble a governing coalition; failure to do so would shift the mandate to another candidate deemed capable by the president.