48 Seats: Opposition Bloc Launches Coalition Talks
Four party leaders met in Herzliya to coordinate a strategy for replacing the current government, though a path to a majority remains unclear.
By Rafael Collins ·
The leaders of the four Jewish opposition parties convened in Herzliya on Tuesday to begin coalition negotiations.
The Jewish opposition bloc holds 48 seats in the Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats. The two Arab parties won 19 seats combined. Without the Arab parties, the opposition lacks a parliamentary majority.
Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar, Naftali Bennett of B’Yachad, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu signed a joint statement after the meeting. They pledged to replace Netanyahu’s government with a "Zionist" government based on four principles. These include recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, maintaining the values of the Declaration of Independence, enforcing mandatory military service for all, and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization. The statement called for a "national emergency government" to put the parliamentary majority to work.
Yair Lapid, B’Yachad’s second-ranked candidate and former prime minister, attended the meeting. The group discussed replacing Likud MK Amir Ohana as Knesset speaker. Changing the speaker would allow the opposition to advance legislation Netanyahu has blocked. This includes a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre. The leaders plan to make a final decision on the speaker by Monday. They also reaffirmed their support for President Isaac Herzog to give Eisenkot the first chance to form a government.
Netanyahu’s allies have not confirmed a unified path. Shas, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit pledged to recommend Netanyahu for the premiership. Shas cited his commitment to securing military exemption status for full-time Torah students. United Torah Judaism has not yet confirmed its backing. The party is considering supporting an Eisenkot-led government amid disagreements over draft exemption laws. Netanyahu spoke with UTJ leader Yaakov Asher on Tuesday morning.
Bennett said B’Yachad will mobilize to help Eisenkot form a government. "We have no time to waste," Bennett said. "We need to act with great urgency." Lapid described the situation as a "grave and dangerous attempt" to undermine election results. He said the conduct of recent days confirms the need to remove Netanyahu from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Golan met with Yousef Jabareen and Ahmad Tibi, leaders of the Arab-led Joint List, before the opposition meeting. They discussed using their combined parliamentary majority to replace the current government. Golan is the only leader in the four-party bloc to publicly support Arab participation in a future coalition. Liberman rejected a minority government reliant on Arab support but did not rule out including ultra-Orthodox partners. Netanyahu’s Likud party criticized the opposition for potentially forming a government reliant on supporters of terrorism. Netanyahu has no apparent path to forming his own government and is working to prevent the opposition from assembling a majority.
