Israel’s opposition leaders back Eisenkot to oust Netanyahu

What the report says

Israel’s opposition leaders have agreed to support former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as their preferred candidate for prime minister, in an effort to replace Benjamin Netanyahu after the October 27 election produced no clear majority in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset, Al Jazeera reported on November 3, 2026. The leaders said they want to move quickly to form a new government, with negotiating teams set to work on policy and coalition terms.

According to the report, the meeting in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid. They agreed to recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog, who is due to begin consultations on the next government. The bloc also endorsed several principles for any coalition, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the designation of Hamas as a terrorist group.

A major point of disagreement remains whether to include Arab-led parties, whose seats could be decisive. Al Jazeera reported that the opposition is divided on this issue: Golan supports working with Arab parties, while Liberman opposes it. Arab party representatives argued the opposition should accept the election arithmetic and cooperate to unseat Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, whose Likud won 27 seats, has called for a broad national government under his leadership, though no opposition leader has signaled willingness to join him. The outcome now depends on Herzog’s consultations and whether Eisenkot can gather enough backing to secure a governing majority.