Israel's opposition leaders unite behind Eisenkot to oust Netanyahu

Following Israel's October 27, 2026 election, opposition leaders Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan, and Yair Lapid agreed on November 3 to recommend Eisenkot for prime minister. The election resulted in political deadlock, with Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 Knesset seats and the opposition securing 48, leaving Arab-led parties holding 19 seats as potential kingmakers as President Isaac Herzog begins consultations.

Opposition alliance decisions and agreements

• ▪The opposition alliance, comprising Yashar, B'Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, the Democrats, and Yesh Atid, agreed to replace Benjamin Netanyahu's government with a national emergency administration and immediately begin drafting policy guidelines
• ▪Israeli opposition leaders Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan, and Yair Lapid agreed to jointly recommend Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog to form the next government
• ▪Opposition leaders standing behind Gadi Eisenkot adopted four guiding principles, including requiring all coalition parties to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a terrorist group
• ▪Opposition party leaders agreed to initiate a vote on November 10, 2026, to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of the Likud party with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid

Schedule for government formation process

• ▪President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to begin official consultations with Knesset party representatives on November 4, 2026, to assign the initial mandate to form a government
• ▪The newly elected 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10, 2026, regardless of whether coalition agreements have been reached

Election results and seat distribution

• ▪Arab-led political parties won 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset during the October 27, 2026 election, with the Joint List securing 11 seats and Ra'am securing eight seats
• ▪In the October 27, 2026 Israeli election, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc secured 53 Knesset seats while the opposition change bloc won 48 seats, leaving both short of the 61-seat majority required to form a government

Netanyahu's post-election statements

• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Arab-led political parties of illegally using Qatari funds during the election campaign to steal votes
• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on November 2, 2026, for the formation of a broad national government under his leadership, citing Likud's position as the largest party with 27 Knesset seats

Positions on involving Arab-Led parties

• ▪Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman ruled out participating in any government led by Benjamin Netanyahu or relying on formal support from Arab-led parties
• ▪Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out forming a coalition government dependent on Arab-led political parties, alleging that those parties support terrorism and reject Israel's existence as a Jewish state
• ▪Democrats party chairman Yair Golan advocated for forming an opposition coalition with Arab-led parties to secure a parliamentary majority to replace Benjamin Netanyahu's government
• ▪Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen stated that his party is willing to coordinate outside parliamentary support with Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc to replace Benjamin Netanyahu's government

Liberman's coalition strategy

• ▪Avigdor Liberman stated on November 2, 2026, that he was in contact with members of Likud's Knesset slate regarding joining the opposition bloc
• ▪Avigdor Liberman stated he would accept a coalition partnership with ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism if they accept his core principles and a haredi military conscription law