Jerusalem (EFE).- The left-wing Joint List coalition recommended on Thursday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog should task opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government.
The coalition attributed the recommendation «not out of love» for the candidate but to the «continued incitement» of Arab citizens by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With the alliance’s 11 seats not factored into the projections, Eisenkot, of the right-wing Yashar! (Straight!) party, could secure up to 67 recommendations, compared to the 46 that Netanyahu is expected to receive.
The aforementioned would strengthen Eisenkot’s chances of being chosen by Herzog to attempt to form a coalition.
«When we come to the president’s residence to recommend who will form this government and that person is Eisenkot, it’s not out of love,» said Ahmad Tibi, head of the left-wing parliamentary group. Tibi warned that the Joint List will not provide a free «safety net» to a government Eisenkot promised would be «Zionist.»
When Herzog asked Tibi about the Arab community following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Tibi recalled that «dozens of Arab citizens were killed and kidnapped» that day. «Two children from my family died in Gaza. The right wing has robbed us of the right to grieve for human beings,» he added.
«Netanyahu wanted Arabs to turn out en masse at the polls to scare Jews. This time, however, they turned out en masse to replace him, and that is very democratic,” he said.
The alliance’s president, Yusef Yabarin, denounced the “ongoing incitement” led by the prime minister and Ben Gvir. He noted that in Europe, replacing “Jew” with “Arab” would be considered anti-Semitic. «We expected greater involvement on your part,» he told Herzog.
MK Maha Karkabi-Saba called on the president to speak out against the “attack on the Arab public led by the head of the Shin Bet,” referring to the investigation into possible “foreign interference” in the elections. Herzog replied that he has spoken out “against generalizations.”
Jewish lawmaker Ófer Casif clashed with Herzog when he linked discrimination against Arabs to settler violence in the occupied West Bank. When the president claimed that some activists “come specifically to set the area ablaze,” Casif retorted: «There are facts, and there are fabrications. The facts are that there are daily pogroms.»
On Thursday, Herzog concluded his round of consultations with «Together,» led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; «Yashar!,» led by Eisenkot; and Netanyahu’s Likud. In the Knesset (parliament), Likud and its allies hold 53 seats, compared to 48 for the opposition bloc and 19 for the Arab parties. The chosen person will have a maximum of 42 days to form a government. EFE
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