The main leaders of the parties that make up the opposition bloc in Israel are holding a joint meeting this Tuesday with the aim of exploring the formation of an Executive alternative to that of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, driven by their common purpose of ousting the Likud leader from power and avoiding a new trip to the polls.
Participating in the meeting are the leader of the opposition, Gadi Eisenkot, whose party Yashar won 21 seats and consolidated itself as the country’s second political force, together with his possible partners from B'Yachad, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; and The Democrats, Yair Golan; as well as Avigdor Lieberman, of Yisrael Beitenu.
Before the meeting, Lieberman has reiterated his commitment to an alternative Government to Netanyahu, but maintaining his stance of excluding the Arab formations from the future Executive. "We must prevent new elections," the Israeli leader stressed in a message on social media, a day after confirming his support for Eisenkot, a key gesture that strengthens the chances of the former Chief of the General Staff receiving the mandate to form a government from the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
Lieberman, former ally of Netanyahu and former Defense and Foreign Minister in cabinets led by the Likud leader, has insisted that the alternative be structured without the Arab parties Raam and Joint List, despite the fact that both together achieved a historic result with 19 seats that gives them a decisive role in the parliamentary arithmetic.
"In the political situation created there is enough room to maneuver, and with correct navigation it is possible to quickly form a functional and stable Government without Raam and the Joint List," he has argued.
This position clashes with that of The Democrats. Its leader, Yair Golan, met this same Tuesday with the leaders of the Joint List, Yusef Jabarin and Ahmad Tibi, in the first meeting between both sides since the elections held a week ago, according to what the party itself reported in a statement.
During the meeting, the political officials addressed "coordination between the factions and the necessary steps to use the parliamentary majority to replace" Netanyahu’s Government, as well as "key matters" affecting Arab citizens, within a coordination strategy "with the will to form a Government of change".
For his part, in statements collected by "The Times of Israel" before the meeting, Lapid has stressed the urgency of accelerating the talks to constitute a new Government in Israel in the face of the "serious and dangerous attempts to undermine the electoral result," in reference to the accusations of irregularities made by Netanyahu.
In his view, the prime minister's attitude is a "reminder" that the opposition formations must collaborate to "remove" Netanyahu from power.
Meanwhile, Herzog has set himself a deadline until Wednesday for all parties to maintain contact with each other before starting to summon the leaders of the formations that have obtained representation in the Knesset.
The final count gave victory to Likud, with 27 seats, compared to Yashar's 21. However, neither of the two blocs reaches by itself the necessary majority, which places the key to governability in the hands of the Arab parties or of a right-wing coalition that leaves the ultra-Orthodox formations out.