Israel president urges compromise after divisive election

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>Israel’s president on Wednesday opened talks on forming a new government with a call for compromise, saying <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2040919">neither side</a> had won divisive elections, as he also condemned “racist” rhetoric against Arab parties that made sharp gains.</p> <p>More than a week after Israel’s first <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2014906">election</a> since the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, President Isaac Herzog began meeting party leaders to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2040496">decide</a> whether to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his rival Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government in the deeply polarised country.</p> <p>With neither bloc holding a majority in the 120-seat parliament after the Oct 27 vote, Herzog said both sides needed to accept that “not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled” and to avoid new elections.</p> <p>“In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the elections, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner,” Herzog said.</p> <p>Eisenkot, who won the endorsement of a major Arab party, vowed to “deepen” the US-Israel partnership across bipartisan lines and to work with President Donald Trump to stabilise the region if selected as prime minister.</p> <p>“I look forward to working closely and constructively with President Trump and his administration,” said Eisenkot, a former military chief who has vowed to turn the page on Netanyahu’s long, divisive reign.</p> <p>“Together, we can advance our shared security interests, strengthen regional stability, and open new doors to prosperity for the peoples of the Middle East.”</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/gadi_eisenkot/status/2118053500709994919'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/gadi_eisenkot/status/2118053500709994919"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>His remarks follow criticism after Trump announced that he had agreed with Netanyahu to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2041868">end nearly $4 billion</a> in annual US military aid to Israel by the end of the year.</p> <p>A leading Arab-Israeli party said it would recommend that Eisenkot form the next government.</p> <p>“The parliamentary group of the United Arab List has decided to recommend Eisenkot to form the next government,” the party known by its Hebrew acronym Raam said in a press statement ahead of a meeting with Herzog, who is consulting with various political forces on the formation of a new government.</p> <p>The election saw soaring support for lists from the Arab minority, descendants of Palestinians who stayed in Israel after its 1948 creation and who have often been outraged by the harsh rhetoric and actions of Netanyahu’s hard-right government.</p> <p>Netanyahu has gone on the offensive against Arab-majority lists. He has pointed to the arrests of several people with envelopes of cash on election day in what authorities called localised incidents, and <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2040722">accused</a> leaders of accepting money from Qatar, an allegation also levelled against the prime minister’s own aides.</p> <p>Without naming any leader, Herzog, whose role is usually ceremonial, said he had “great respect” for the Arab minority, which makes up around 20 per cent of Israel’s population.</p> <p>“I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently. There is no place for them (to be made) toward any community in Israel,” Herzog said.</p> <h2><a id="no-evidence-found" href="#no-evidence-found" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1" title="Permalink"></a>No evidence found</h2> <p>The Central Elections Committee said it had conducted an audit of 9,069 polling stations following complaints and found no evidence that would question the results’ integrity.</p> <p>The committee, which reflects the makeup of the outgoing parliament, approved the results with 15 members in favour and two against but 14 others abstaining.</p> <p>Itamar Ben Gvir, the ultra-nationalist national security minister known for his provocative calls for Palestinian suffering, said his party did not accept the results and he urged the arrest of Arab-Israeli party leaders.</p> <p>Several Israeli media outlets said authorities were investigating Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh for allegedly taking foreign money. He is part of the largest Arab group, the Joint List, which in a statement denounced “political persecution”.</p> <p>Eisenkot, a former military chief who has vowed to turn the page on Netanyahu’s long, divisive reign, accused the prime minister of trying to “undermine Israeli democracy” and inflame sentiment against elected officials.</p> <p>“We will not allow the State of Israel to be dragged into a dark abyss, far beyond the bounds of democratic conduct,” Eisenkot said, as he marked the 1995 assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.</p> <h2><a id="buoyed-by-us-elections" href="#buoyed-by-us-elections" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1" title="Permalink"></a>Buoyed by US elections</h2> <p>Eisenkot has warned Netanyahu against launching a new war with his ally Trump against Iran, which could help the Israeli prime minister push for a unity government or to run out the clock until new elections.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/2041094'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/2041094" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>Opposition lawmakers said Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States, in which Democrats <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2042019/democrats-win-us-congress-in-midterm-rout-of-trump">trounced</a> Trump’s Republicans, reinforced the need to remove Netanyahu.</p> <p>Democrats have vowed a tougher line on Israel amid outrage over the devastation wrought by the assault on Gaza. Trump said as voting was underway that he had agreed with Netanyahu to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2041996">end nearly $4 billion</a> in annual US military aid to Israel by the end of the year.</p> <p>“The continued tenure of Netanyahu and Ben Gvir could lead Israel down a path of international sanctions, international isolation and a clash with the US, our friend and most important ally,” said Yair Golan, who heads the most left-wing party within the opposition bloc.</p> <p>Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister who has been in power on and off for nearly two decades, has called for a “broad national government” — with himself at the top. He faces corruption charges that could land him in jail if he leaves office.</p> <p>Herzog’s statements have raised speculation that he could sound out leaders on a possible unity government, but Eisenkot and his allies have ruled that out.</p> <p>Herzog will hold an initial two days of consultations and then give a contender 28 days to form a government, with a potential 14-day extension.</p> <p>It took Netanyahu, who at the time had a better showing by Likud, 58 days to form a government after the last election in November 2022.</p> <p>Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 after repeated deadlocks.</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.