The consultations between President Isaac Herzog and party representatives on whom to recommend to form the next government continued at the President’s Residence on Thursday, with two of the four factions attending backing Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot to receive the mandate.
The recommendations put Eisenkot in a position to receive the mandate from Herzog over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once consultations with all parties conclude Thursday evening.
The left-wing Democrats party and Ra’am (United Arab List) both recommended Eisenkot. During the talks, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said the party supports the full disarmament of Hamas, which is one of the four principles Eisenkot has set out as conditions for joining his coalition.
"Arab society, and I as an individual, as well as Arab citizens as a whole, we are a bridge. Let’s not destroy that bridge. Let’s not turn us into supporters of terrorism or traitors," Abbas said in response to a question about denouncing Hamas as a terror organization.
Meanwhile, the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, recommended Netanyahu as the candidate to form the next government.
The haredi (ultra-Orthodox) United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, a longtime coalition partner of Netanyahu, declined to recommend a prime minister candidate.
UTJ's decision to abstain comes amid reported tensions between the haredi party and Netanyahu, and it benefits the opposition bloc seeking to replace him. Oppostion party leaders have recently signaled greater openness to including haredi parties in their coalition.
During Ra’am’s consultation meeting with Herzog, Abbas stated that the party backs US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Abbas also said that Netanyahu's coalition had been unable to come to an agreement to free the Gaza hostages after the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023.
"When you talk about the change government not being able to make agreements... [Netanyahu's] government was not able to come to an agreement to return the hostages," Abbas said to Herzog,
"Ra'am sitting in the coalition will only make the government stronger and more aware,” he added.
The Arab party has sought to establish itself as a viable coalition partner. Democrats leader Yair Golan has called on the opposition bloc to partner with the Arab parties, which would give it a 67-seat majority amid the ongoing political deadlock following the election. However, other leaders in the opposition bloc have drawn a red line against forming a coalition with the Arab parties.
Abbas told Herzog that "when it comes to political violence in all its forms, we do not qualify our condemnation. We do not say 'but.' This is not just about our condemnation of October 7 and our opposition to it, or all the work we have done to secure the release of the hostages."
"Perhaps something will come of it, but this is the space I am seeking so that we can serve as a bridge for reconciliation and peace, while also protecting lives. I have already said in the media that, in a certain sense, this is a matter of pikuach nefesh, the Jewish principle of saving human life," he said.
"We are unequivocally opposed to all acts of terrorism and violence against any human being. And we aspire to reconciliation and peace between the two peoples," he added.
Yoav Segalovitz, who holds the second slot on the Ra'am Knesset slate and was the first Jewish candidate to join the party, launched an attack on Netanyahu during the consultation meeting, saying, "The extremists have taken the wheel, and the one who gave them permission is the prime minister."
Ra'am MK Walid al-Hawashla claimed that Netanyahu had asked the Arab party to vote for his preferred candidate during the Knesset State Comptroller vote.
"Netanyahu turns to us to vote with him on the State Comptroller, but when I want to be part of the coalition, I'm a terror supporter?" Hawashla said to Herzog.
Democrats back Eisenkot, accuse Netanyahu of delegitimizing members
Earlier, in the Democrats' meeting with Herzog, party representatives recommended Eisenkot to form the government.
The party was represented by MK Naama Lazimi, MK Efrat Rayten, MK Gilad Kariv, and soon-to-be-sworn-in MKS, Yaya Fink, and Gaby Lasky.
A true unity government is made up of religious and secular parties, with Jews and Arabs, Fink said during the consultation.
Anyone who thinks that a unity government can be formed including Netanyahu, I have a second-hand car to sell them from a settler on Tinder, Fink added.
During his meeting with the Democrats, Herzog said that he is "constantly" asking himself, "What will happen when Netanyahu retires. What will be with the parties' campaigns? Is it all about yes or no to Netanyahu?"
Rayten accused Netanyahu of delegitimizing members of the Democrats party.
"Over the past few months, [Netanyahu] has been delegitimizing not only Israeli Arabs, but also us directly," Rayten said.
Otzma Yehudit delegation recommends Benjamin Netanyahu to form government
During Otzma Yehudit’s meeting with Herzog, the party representatives slammed the Arab parties and doubled down on its recent claims that the elections were stolen.
The far-right delegation included Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, and MKs Limor Son Har-Melech and Yitzhak Kreuzer.
Wasserlauf told Herzog that he demands that any party must condemn Hamas before it is eligible to recommend a prime ministerial candidate.
He also claimed that the elections were stolen, saying that around NIS 100 million were illegally transferred to Israeli voters, and calling it "an earthquake."
The remarks were referring to the ongoing Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) investigation into suspicions that foreign entities, such as Qatar and Turkey, allegedly funneled money into Israel to influence voting in Arab communities. The Central Elections Committee (CEC) has ratified the results of the Knesset elections and stated that no harm to the integrity of the elections took place.
Son Har-Melech also said that the majority of the country does not believe in the results of the election, especially when listening to Shin Bet Director David Zini.
UTJ refuses to recommend candidate for prime minister
"Mr. President, this should trouble you greatly, and you must act to find the truth," she told Herzog.
During UTJ’s meeting with Herzog, the party representatives discussed haredi conscription to the IDF amid the party's contentious stance on the matter as the IDF faces a severe manpower shortage.
UTJ's first priority is protecting people who study Torah, MK Yitzhak Pindrus told Herzog.
Pindrus said that protecting Torah students took priority over establishing a government, saying that UTJ expects any government that is formed to make the issue of "those who study Torah being persecuted" its top priority.
"We came to discuss topics and not people," he stated.
Pindrus also said that sanctions against draft dodgers should only apply to "those whose Torah is not their craft."
When Herzog asked whether those who do not learn Torah should be drafted into the IDF, Pindrus emphasized that the party's objection to drafting applied only to those who study Torah.
"I regret that the Tal Law was struck down by the High Court of Justice - and by such a narrow margin, at that," Herzog responded.
In Wednesday's consultations the day prior, the Religious Zionist Party, Shas, and Zehut all recommended Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, recommended Eisenkot as the candidate to form the next government.
On Thursday afternoon, Yousef Jabareen’s the Joint List, Naftali Bennett’s B'Yachad, Eisenkot’s Yashar, and Netanayhu’s Likud will be the final parties to meet with Herzog and give their recommendations.
The election results showed no bloc receiving a 61-seat Knesset majority, as Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats, while the opposition bloc won 48. The Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, won a record-breaking 19 seats combined.
Along with the 48 seats won by the opposition bloc, the Arab parties' 19 seats would give Eisenkot 67 in total, prompting Herzog to potentially grant him the mandate over Netanyahu.
Shir Perets contributed to this report.