Joint List Backs Eisenkot in Israel Government Race

Israel's opposition is gaining momentum in efforts to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-led parties, announced Thursday, November 5, 2026, that it would recommend Gadi Eisenkot to lead the next government following last week's parliamentary election.

The endorsement could raise Eisenkot's parliamentary backing to 67 lawmakers, exceeding the 61 seats required for a majority in Israel's 120-member Knesset, according to Al Jazeera. The Joint List holds 11 seats, while another Arab-led party, Ra'am, has eight.

The Joint List confirmed its decision in a statement announcing its intention to formally notify President Isaac Herzog.

"The Joint List announced today, Thursday, that it will inform the President of the State, Isaac Herzog, this evening of its decision to recommend that Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming the government," the alliance said.

Herzog has already started consultations with political parties after accepting the certified election results on Wednesday. According to The New York Times, the president must identify the candidate with the strongest prospects of assembling a governing coalition.

Herzog described the consultations with party representatives on social media.

"received their recommendations regarding the identity of the Knesset member upon whom the task of forming the government should be assigned," Herzog said, referring to discussions with representatives of several political factions.

The president also met representatives of Religious Zionism, Zehut, Shas and Yisrael Beytenu. His decision on the candidate is expected by November 11, according to The New York Times.

Netanyahu's Likud-led bloc secured 53 seats, falling short of the parliamentary majority. The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot's center-right Yashar party obtained 48 seats, while Arab-led parties achieved a record 19 seats, according to The New York Times.

Netanyahu's position could weaken further because Degel HaTorah, which controls four of United Torah Judaism's seven seats, has said it will recommend neither candidate. The faction broke with Netanyahu over the failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, questions surrounding allegations of election interference have intensified political tensions. Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly alleged that Arab-led parties had "stolen" the election, potentially with foreign assistance, according to NBC News and The Associated Press.

However, Israel's election commission said its investigation found no evidence that irregularities had compromised the election or changed its outcome.

"no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results," the election commission said in its findings.

A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service into possible foreign interference remains ongoing. Its head, David Zini, presented an intelligence assessment concerning alleged foreign funding during a closed-door meeting of election committee members.

The assessment described what the agency considered significant financial activity involving foreign states.

"widespread phenomenon involving the influx of substantial funds into Israel from foreign states," the Shin Bet assessment stated.

However, the agency provided no supporting evidence for that assertion, according to the Associated Press. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg also emphasized that the election committee had not established that any suspected interference affected the results.

"At this stage, these are merely suspicions, and even if they are substantiated, the scope of their potential impact is limited," Sohlberg said.

He also warned about the consequences of undermining public confidence in the electoral process.

"easy to destroy, yet very difficult to repair," Sohlberg said, describing public trust in elections.

Political tensions escalated after the Shin Bet requested permission from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to question several elected officials, including Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas and other senior Arab lawmakers.

The attorney general rejected the request, saying investigations involving elected officials must have an evidentiary basis, according to NBC News.

Meanwhile, the Joint List condemned the proposed interrogations as a "campaign of incitement" intended to undermine the legitimacy of Arab voters.

Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir also rejected the election committee's findings and demanded action against Arab political leaders.

"arrest all the leaders of the Arab political parties," Ben-Gvir said in a call directed at the Shin Bet.

He further demanded that the officials be held while investigators examined the allegations.

"basement interrogation cells until these suspicions are fully clarified," Ben-Gvir said.

Herzog defended the legitimacy of Arab Israeli voters while acknowledging the separate intelligence investigation.

"must not be smeared," Herzog said, referring to Arab Israeli voters.

He also condemned racist rhetoric surrounding the election dispute, according to the Associated Press.

Once consultations conclude, Herzog will select the candidate he considers most capable of forming a coalition. The designated candidate will have 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension. If both Netanyahu and Eisenkot fail, Israel could hold another election early in 2027.