Israel’s Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas says his eight-seat party wants to join a possible government led by Gadi Eisenkot, Israel Hayom reported Tuesday, adding a potential partner to talks after the election left blocs short.
At a Ra’am faction meeting, Abbas said his party would keep working to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and expected Netanyahu’s bloc to move into opposition, Israel Hayom reported. He called government participation a “fundamental civil right” and said greater Arab involvement would benefit Arab society and Jewish citizens.
President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Nov. 8 after 67 lawmakers recommended him for the assignment, compared with 46 for Netanyahu, Herzog’s office said. A seven-seat faction recommended neither. Those recommendations did not commit lawmakers to support a government Eisenkot might form.
The Oct. 27 election left parties aligned with Eisenkot outside the Arab-led lists with 48 seats, compared with 53 for Netanyahu’s bloc, according to the Knesset’s official results. Ra’am won eight seats and the Joint List 11. The election left both main blocs short of an outright majority.
Eisenkot-aligned parties and Ra’am would have 56 seats together, five short of 61 for an outright majority. But 61 votes in favor are not required: a proposed government must win a Knesset confidence vote, which can pass with more votes for than against.
The Associated Press reported that Yisrael Beytenu, a party aligned with Eisenkot, has said it would not join a government that includes Arab-led parties. Democrats party leader Yair Golan urged his partners not to rule out including Arab parties in a government, public broadcaster KAN reported. Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said at a news conference that his alliance would work to block another Netanyahu government, Anadolu Agency reported.
Eisenkot’s initial period to form a government is 28 days, with the president able to grant extensions totaling up to 14 more days under the Basic Law. Any proposed government must then win a Knesset confidence vote.
