The main leaders of the parties that make up the bloc opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu have decided this Tuesday to begin a process of talks to try to bring forth a new Government in Israel that displaces the current prime minister from power, appealing to "the clear parliamentary majority" with which they claim to count.
According to a joint statement released after the meeting, "the leaders of the parties are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the Government of October 7 with a national emergency Government and make effective the clear parliamentary majority existing in the Knesset". Attending the meeting were the head of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, whose party Yashar won 21 seats and consolidated itself as the second political force, together with his possible partners from B'Yachad, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; and The Democrats, Yair Golan; in addition to Avigdor Lieberman, of Yisrael Beitenu.
The participants thus expressed their "full commitment" to the will for change expressed at the polls by Israeli citizens, "who voted clearly and decisively in favor of change and against the continuity of the current Government".
During the meeting, the different leaders confirmed their support for Eisenkot as an alternative to Netanyahu and agreed that their respective negotiating teams begin to draw up drafts for a coalition pact and a Government program that sets the political priorities of a possible Executive.
Among the common bases that have come to light is the recognition of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state, the commitment to the principles of the 1948 Declaration of Independence that gave rise to the Jewish state, as well as the recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization and the need to dismantle its military capabilities and put an end to its rule in the Gaza Strip.
Nevertheless, the steps to articulate the majority they claim, supported by the Arab parties Joint List and Raam, which add up to 19 seats and are emerging as decisive for any change in power, remain to be defined.
Despite this balance of forces in the Knesset, Eisenkot rules out for now negotiating agreements with the Arab formations, while Lieberman maintains that it is possible to set up a solid Executive without resorting to these parties.
In contrast, Yair Golan does show himself willing to cooperate with the main Arab force, Joint List, and has maintained contacts with its leaders before meeting with the Jewish opposition leaders.
The heads of the main Jewish opposition parties have agreed in criticizing the "dangerous" campaign of the ruling Likud, which they accuse of trying to delegitimize the election result and the work of the Central Electoral Committee, after Netanyahu's party denounced an alleged fraud in favor of the Arab lists, accusations that the Israeli electoral authorities have rejected.