The Israeli opposition announced on Friday that it has made progress in its efforts to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One of the leaders of this opposition has lifted his veto on military service requests from ultra-Orthodox Jews, opening the doors for cooperation with this community, which had previously seemed unlikely.
Election Results and Political Situation
Netanyahu, who is recognized as Israel's longest-serving prime minister, and Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition leader, both failed to gain a majority in the October 27 elections. Israeli society is sharply polarized over Netanyahu and is weary after three years of conflict.
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Eisenkot expects President Isaac Herzog, who has met with party leaders this week, to assign him the task of forming a government on Sunday. He wrote in a post on social media X: "We have made significant progress and gaps slowly and cautiously, while many developments are still occurring in the background."
Challenges of Cooperation with Ultra-Orthodox Jews
Yair Golan, the main leader of the left-wing faction in Israel and part of the opposition bloc, also referred to the progress and said: "I am more optimistic than I was on Wednesday morning after the election results were announced." Eisenkot, whose campaign sought to garner support from secular and liberal Israelis, could form a government in cooperation with Arab Israelis, whose number of seats has increased due to dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's right-wing government.
However, cooperation with Arab Israelis faces strong opposition from Avigdor Lieberman, an opposition partner. Lieberman, who was once an advisor to Netanyahu and now criticizes him sharply, still holds harsh views against Palestinians. He announced on Friday that he would not back down from not cooperating with Arab Israelis but called for negotiations with ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Lieberman said: "This is painful for me, and I know it is painful for many others as well. But given the broad challenges we face today, the national interests of the State of Israel and the Jewish people must take precedence over everything else."
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