Golan meets Eisenkot as no bloc has a majority — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, Democrats party leader Yair Golan met with Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot amid a situation in which no political bloc won the 61 seats required for a majority in the Knesset. The Jerusalem Post reports.
Opposition meetings
Eisenkot’s Yashar party received the most seats among the forces of the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the party, Eisenkot and Golan discussed the election results and their shared desire to carry out the will of the voters as soon as possible.
Earlier, Golan also met with opposition leader Yair Lapid, who holds the second position on the Beyachad electoral list led by Naftali Bennett. After the meeting with Eisenkot, Golan said that he was ready to do everything necessary, courageously and responsibly, to seize the opportunity for change and secure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Positions on Arab parties
On Wednesday, Golan called on the opposition to form a coalition involving Arab parties. According to forecasts, the Joint List and Ra’am could jointly receive 19 seats in the Knesset.
At the same time, Eisenkot, Bennett, and Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman opposed the participation of Arab parties in the government. They consider them unacceptable coalition partners after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Lieberman also reiterated that he would not join a coalition either with Arab parties or with Netanyahu. According to him, he would consider only a coalition formed from Zionist parties, including Likud without Netanyahu.
Seat distribution
According to nearly final data from the Central Election Commission released on Thursday, Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the next Knesset, while the opposition bloc won 48. Likud could receive 27 seats and once again become the largest party in parliament. Among the possible further developments, the publication names coalition negotiations, a unity government, or a minority government.
