Israel’s opposition leaders have agreed to back former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister, promising to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as quickly as possible.

The five party heads met on Tuesday in the city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, in their first joint meeting since the October 27 election which left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The agreement comes a day before President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with parties on who should form the next government.

But the bloc remains divided over whether to ally with Arab-led parties, whose support could prove decisive.

‘National emergency government’In a joint statement, the leaders said all their parties would recommend Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, to Herzog, and that negotiating teams would immediately begin drafting policy guidelines and coalition agreements.

“The party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the ‘Oct. 7 government’ with a national emergency government,” the statement said.

The meeting brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The leaders stood by four principles set out by Eisenkot, including that all parties in government recognise Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a terrorist group, conditions that could exclude some Arab-led parties.

“We don’t have time – we must act with great urgency,” Bennett, whose party came third, told reporters.

Israeli left-wing activists hold placards during a demonstration outside the home of Gadi Eisenkot in Herzliya calling for the formation of a government that includes Arab-led parties [File: AFP] Arab parties hold the balance Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, the opposition 48, and Arab-led parties 19, with the Joint List taking 11 and Ra’am eight. A majority requires 61 seats.

Yousef Jabareen, head of the largest Arab-led party in the next parliament, said the opposition needed to accept “political reality” and join forces to remove Netanyahu.

Golan is the only opposition leader openly backing an alliance with Arab-led parties, saying it is racist to exclude them.

He met the leaders of Arab-led parties before the talks and promised to tackle high crime faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel in their communities.

Afterwards, the two sides stressed their “shared interest in using the parliamentary majority to bring down the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir-Smotrich government and replace it”, according to a statement.

Liberman has firmly opposed including Arab-led parties, although he also wants to avoid another election.

Israel’s minority Arab population has long been marginalised in politics, and even more so since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7 and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

At least two former Palestinian politicians and one current member of the Knesset have been arrested briefly for comments or acts deemed critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.

Arab citizens of Israel are descendants of Palestinians who managed to remain within the borders of the newly established Israeli state in 1948 after the Nakba or catastrophe. They make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population.

Palestinian candidate Yousef Jabareen of the Joint List party speaks as he reacts to exit polls during Israel’s national election, at the party election headquarters in Nazareth, northern Israel [File: Jamal Awad/Reuters] Netanyahu seeks ‘broad national government’ On Monday, Netanyahu called for a “broad national government” under his leadership, saying his Likud party, with 27 seats, remained the largest. No opposition leader has expressed openness to joining him.

He has ruled out a coalition with Arab-majority lists, alleging they “support terrorism and deny the existence of the Jewish state”.

Netanyahu, 76, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is on trial on corruption charges and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel began its war in October 2023.

Herzog will hold consultations on Wednesday and Thursday. Eisenkot could receive the most recommendations if he secures the backing of Arab lawmakers.