Gadi Eizenkot, leader of the Yashar party, stated this evening (Tuesday) that the heads of the parties in the center-left bloc will act swiftly to form a national emergency government and replace the Speaker of the Knesset—a decision reached following a meeting held earlier today in Herzliya. “We have two goals before us: the establishment of a national emergency government, based on the four principles I have presented,” Eisenkot said in a video statement. The principles he outlined are: a Jewish, democratic, and liberal state; adherence to the values of the Declaration of Independence; a mandatory requirement for military, national, or civil service; and the destruction of the military and governing power of the terrorist organization Hamas.
The Yashar leader added that the parties’ negotiating teams would soon begin working on a set of shared foundational guidelines and parliamentary initiatives, including “the election of a new Speaker of the Knesset, the advancement of critical legislation, and the repeal of laws that endanger democracy.” The objective, he clarified, is to prevent “Israel from being dragged into yet another round of elections, and to stop Netanyahu from entrenching himself in power.” Eizenkot asserted that “as of Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu is a transitional Prime Minister, backed by only forty-six Members of Knesset.”
Later in the statement, Eisenkot leveled criticism at the Prime Minister and his party. “The Likud and Netanyahu know that we are determined.” “That is why they continue to cast aspersions and undermine the true election results. It is their last resort,” he said, warning that the coming days would be filled with “spins and ugly, false briefings.” Eisenkot concluded his remarks with a message: “Anyone who thinks they can use intimidation to derail this change misjudges our determination and our commitment to the citizens of Israel and the State of Israel.”
The statement followed a meeting—the first since the election—between the leaders of the parties within the bloc: Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Yair Golan, and Avigdor Liberman. They agreed to recommend to President Isaac Herzog that he grant the first mandate to form a government to the chairman of the Yashar party. According to the final results published by the Central Elections Committee, the right-wing bloc won 53 seats, the left-wing bloc won 48, and the Arab parties won 19—meaning that none of the blocs reached a majority of 61 Knesset members.