The Joint List and Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party have offered the parliamentary backing needed to elevate Eisenkot's 48-seat opposition to a 67-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset. This development represents an unusual strategy shift for the Joint List, which traditionally refrains from cooperating with the Israeli political establishment. Lawmaker Ahmad Tibi clarified that the Joint List intends to provide votes from outside the coalition rather than formally accepting ministerial positions. This external arrangement aims to bypass Eisenkot's coalition prerequisites, such as requiring partners to accept mandatory service for all citizens and designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Key points
External backing from Arab parties gives Gadi Eisenkot the numbers needed to potentially…: External backing from Arab parties gives Gadi Eisenkot the numbers needed to potentially unseat Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ahmad Tibi argues Eisenkot's strict coalition conditions should not apply to parties offe…: Ahmad Tibi argues Eisenkot's strict coalition conditions should not apply to parties offering only outside parliamentary votes.
Ra'am confirmed it will officially recommend Gadi Eisenkot to President Herzog to establi…: Ra'am confirmed it will officially recommend Gadi Eisenkot to President Herzog to establish the next administration.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Arab political participation as a warning to voters, famously campaigning with the slogan "Bibi or Tibi". Now, the very lawmakers he once portrayed as a threat to his political future could hold the key to ending his rule, as Arab-led parties offer to back a Jewish-led opposition government following Israel's fractured election.
According to a report by The Associated Press (AP), Ahmad Tibi, a senior lawmaker from the Arab-led Joint List, has offered to cooperate with opposition parties led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to remove Netanyahu from power.
"We want to do things that we did not do in the past in order to remove this criminal government," Tibi told AP. He said his bloc was prepared to support an opposition government without necessarily joining its governing coalition.
A day earlier, on Wednesday, another Arab-led party, Mansour Abbas-led Ra'am, had also announced that it would recommend Eisenkot to Herzog to form the next government. The party's eight lawmakers joined the opposition leader's growing support base, according to The Times of…
Combined with an endorsement from the Arab-led party Ra'am, the move brings the total number of lawmakers backing Eisenkot to 67 in the 120-seat Knesset, dealing a significant blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to remain in power. Together, the two Arab-led parties secured a record 19 seats in the 27 October election, while Netanyahu's right-wing bloc won 53 seats and Eisenkot's opposition alliance secured 48. The Joint List said its unanimous decision was driven by public demands to prevent Netanyahu…
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