Symbolic imageEisenkot leads recommendations as ultra-Orthodox party withholds backing from Netanyahu
Gadi Eisenkot has 67 recommendations from lawmakers against 46 for Netanyahu after an ultra-Orthodox party declined to back the prime minister. President Herzog will name his choice on Sunday.
United Torah Judaism (UTJ), Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox ally for three decades, abstained in President Isaac Herzog's consultations on Thursday, 5 November. Le Monde ties the move to the dispute over conscripting religious students. It cost Netanyahu's bloc, which won 53 seats on 27 October, seven recommendations, leaving the outgoing prime minister with 46 from Likud, Otzma Yehudit, the Religious Zionist Party, Zehut and Shas. Herzog said the result may appear clear, but "mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves" complicate the choice. He will hold personal talks with some party leaders over the weekend.
Arab parties back Eisenkot
Ra'am and the Joint List, with 19 seats combined, recommended Eisenkot, which does not commit them to join his coalition. Ra'am says it would join, while the Joint List has suggested supporting a government from outside through tactical voting, according to the Guardian.
Obstacles to a majority
Eisenkot's conditions for Arab parties include recognising Israel as a Jewish state, national service and denouncing Hamas, and several opposition leaders reject any coalition with them. The chosen candidate gets 28 days, extendable by 14; failure passes the task to someone else, and a lasting impasse leads to new elections, Le Monde reports.