Israel’s Arab party, the Joint List, on Thursday announced that it will recommend Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as the next prime minister, giving him the backing of 67 members of the incoming Knesset, The Times of Israel reported.
Eisenkot had already secured more recommendations than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Joint List’s endorsement widens that lead and gives Eisenkot support from a majority of the 120-member parliament. However, the recommendations do not necessarily mean the parties will join his coalition.
World · Israel election
Israel PM race: Eisenkot gets 67 recommendations
Six parties have said they will recommend Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog to form Israel’s next government.
The 120-seat Knesset
61 for a majority
067120
Six parties recommending Eisenkot, coloured as below Netanyahu’s bloc
ConfirmedOn the recordExplainerBackgroundNot yet knownNot yet known
1Party-by-party support
YasharGadi Eisenkot’s party 21Agreed to recommendJerusalem Post
B’YachadLed by Naftali Bennett 12Agreed to recommendJerusalem Post
The DemocratsLed by Yair Golan 8Agreed to recommendJerusalem Post
Yisrael BeytenuLed by Avigdor Liberman 7Formally recommendedYnet
Joint ListArab-led party 11AnnouncedThe Times of Israel
Ra’amArab-led Islamist party, led by Mansour Abbas 8AnnouncedYnet
06121824
ConfirmedSeat counts: Ynet; The Jerusalem Post
2Key callouts
67MKs expected to recommend EisenkotThe Times of Israel; Ynet
61seats needed for a Knesset majority120-member Knesset
6seats above the majority thresholdOur calculation, 67 minus 61
53seats held by Netanyahu’s blocThe Jerusalem Post
19seats held by Arab-led parties: Joint List 11 and Ra’am 8The Jerusalem Post
3What does 67 mean?
“Although Eisenkot has received more recommendations than Netanyahu, we believe it is important to widen the gap between them.”Joint List statement, November 5ConfirmedThe Times of Israel
ExplainerThe 67 recommendations give Eisenkot a majority in the presidential consultations. However, the parties have not all committed to joining his government.The Times of Israel
ConfirmedThe Joint List says its recommendation aims to improve the chances of replacing the government and to reduce the prospect of a unity government that keeps Netanyahu in power.Joint List statement, via The Times of Israel
ConfirmedYisrael Beytenu recommended Eisenkot but has ruled out a government that relies on Arab parties.Ynet
What happens next
ExplainerHerzog has seven days to consult the parties and assign the mandate, a deadline of November 11. He is not legally obliged to choose the candidate with the most recommendations.JFeed, citing Israeli law
ExplainerThe candidate given the mandate has 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension.The Jerusalem Post
Not yet knownWhich of the six parties will actually join an Eisenkot government.Coalition talks under way
Sources: The Times of Israel; Ynet; The Jerusalem Post; JFeed. Party colours are for distinction only and are not official.
Created by Aniruddha Dhar
The alliance said the recommendation was important despite what it described as the opposition bloc’s failure so far to show sufficient willingness to “confront Netanyahu’s path” and challenge incitement against Arab citizens or attempts to undermine the legitimacy of their political choices.
Under Israel’s Basic Laws, the formation of a government could take several months, and if no one succeeds, a fresh election follows.
“Although Eisenkot has received more recommendations than Netanyahu, we believe it is important to widen the gap between them,” the Joint List said. A Joint List delegation is expected to present its recommendation to Herzog later on Thursday.
Herzog carried on the consultation process for the second day with parties in order to pick the candidate most suitable to form the majority government.
Herzog clashes with Netanyahu ally over election remarks
Herzog reportedly clashed with representatives of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, an ally of Netanyahu’s Likud party, and rebuked them over alleged election fraud, remarks on Arab voters, and attacks on the attorney general.
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The parade of recommenders continued at the presidential office on Thursday in Tel Aviv as Netanyahu’s position in the post-electoral battle in Israel was growing more challenging by the day to stay on as the country’s prime minister after an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party, United Torah Judaism (UJT), announced that it will not recommend any candidate.
Notably, the UJT was part of the bloc led by Netanyahu in the 2026 elections.
Netanyahu faces setbacks as Arab parties back Eisenkot
In another setback to the Netanyahu-led party’s hopes, an Arab-led party, United Arab List (Ra’am), announced that it would back Eisenkot as the candidate to form the next government in Israel. Ra’am had won 8 seats in the election. If its support gets formally through, the Eisenkot-led bloc will have 56 members supporting the candidate but still five short of the magic number.
After holding consultations with smaller parties, President Herzog is poised to meet Netanyahu and his political rival Eisenkot on Thursday evening to decide which of the two men to pick to form a government.
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