Israel's United Arab List to back Eisenkot government without coalition deal

Government Formation

Israel's United Arab List on Sunday pledged to support a prospective administration led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot without demanding a coalition accord, according to Israeli daily Haaretz. President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government a day earlier following the October 27 elections that saw anti-Netanyahu forces win 67 seats against 53 for the premier's backers.

Party Positions

"Our party, which has eight Knesset members, will support a Gadi Eisenkot government even if no coalition agreement is signed," a source from the faction headed by Mansour Abbas told the newspaper. The move aims to prevent Eisenkot's bloc from relying on support from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, the report noted.

The Joint List, which holds 11 seats, "will not vote in favor of an Eisenkot-led government without an agreement, but it will not work to bring it down," Haaretz quoted the party led by Yousef Jabareen as saying. The two Arab parties secured a combined 19 seats in the October vote.

Parliamentary Arithmetic

Parties opposed to Netanyahu hold 48 seats without Arab party support — three short of the 61 required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Most opposition leaders have previously rejected forming a government dependent on Arab parties despite the electoral mathematics, though Abbas has stated his faction would act according to the will of the Arab public to change the government.