Hundreds rally in Tel Aviv urging Eisenkot to govern with Arab parties after deadlock

Deadlock after the vote

Neither bloc can form a government after the parliamentary election of 27 October, which some outlets date to 28 October. Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, with his Likud party taking 27 of them, while the opposition bloc of Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief leading the Yashar party, won 48. A majority requires 61 seats. The Arab lists won 19 seats together, the most they have ever won, which makes them decisive. A coalition of Eisenkot's bloc and the Arab parties would reach 67 seats, the figure protesters put on their slogans.

Netanyahu bloc53

Eisenkot bloc48

Arab lists19

Majority threshold61

Netanyahu bloc

53 seats

Eisenkot bloc

48 seats

Arab lists

19 seats

Majority threshold

61 seats

Data from the article text

Rallies in several cities

On Saturday, 31 October, demonstrators gathered in the evening in Tel Aviv on the initiative of the left civic movement Standing Together, according to NRC. Crowd estimates vary: tagesschau reports hundreds, NRC estimates about 2,000 and 20 Minuten counts 400 to 500 people. Smaller demonstrations were held in Haifa, Jerusalem, Beersheba and near Taybeh. A similar protest took place on Thursday, 29 October, outside Eisenkot's home in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. Placards read "Arabs and Jews will only win together", and one demonstrator asked why not, or whether the protesters were racists.

Netanyahu supporters held a counter-protest, which NRC puts at about 200 people according to Israeli media. They waved flags bearing his picture, chanted his campaign slogans and opposed bringing the Arab parties into government. Netanyahu has accused the Arab parties of stealing the election with support from abroad, and his backers demand an investigation into electoral fraud. A video shared by artist and activist Yigal Shtayim shows one counter-protester making a remark about Auschwitz to the demonstrators.

Obstacles inside the opposition

During the campaign, almost all Zionist parties ruled out cooperation with the Arab parties, with the Democrats as the exception, according to NRC. Eisenkot has set four principles for any partner: recognition of Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and egalitarian state; commitment to the values of Israel's Declaration of Independence; compulsory military, national or civil service for all citizens, including Arab and or Christian citizens; and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation whose military and governing capacities in Gaza must be destroyed. La Razon reports that any elected representative who accepts these principles would be considered a potential partner. Tagesschau reports that the Arab parties hold differing views on what concessions they would be willing to make, so it remains unclear what they would accept. Arab citizens number about 2 million of Israel's 10 million people, according to NRC, and 20 Minuten puts them at about 20% of the population.

Herzog and the path ahead

President Isaac Herzog decides who receives the first mandate to form a government, and he has asked the parties to enter consultations with open minds, with avoiding a new election as the priority, according to Open. Channel 13, cited by Open, reported that Eisenkot could receive the first mandate, although his 48 seats are not enough on their own. Netanyahu has requested a pardon to end his corruption trial, and Open reports Herzog has not yet responded, and may link that decision to concessions on forming a government. Netanyahu wrote on X that forming a government with the Arab parties is forbidden, posting an older video of Ahmad Tibi, number two on the Joint List, saying he does not regard Hamas as a terrorist group. If neither bloc gains a majority and no cooperation emerges, NRC says a deadlock and new elections could follow.