JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL
Leaders of five Israeli opposition parties agreed Saturday to coordinate their efforts ahead of next month’s elections in a bid to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and form an alternative coalition.
Israeli Channel 12 said that leaders of what it called the “change bloc” met at opposition leader Yair Lapid’s home in Tel Aviv, about a month before the Oct. 27 Knesset (parliament) elections.
The meeting brought together Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid; Gadi Eisenkot, the head of Yashar; Naftali Bennett, the leader of Beyachad; Avigdor Lieberman, the head of Yisrael Beiteinu; and Democrats leader Yair Golan. The meeting focused on coordinating the parties’ election efforts, attracting additional voters to the opposition bloc, and improving its chances of securing a parliamentary majority and forming the next government in place of Netanyahu’s, according to the broadcaster.
Following the meeting, the five leaders published a group picture and a document outlining principles for coordination until the election and afterward.
Under the document, each party leader pledged to work within their respective constituencies to boost voter turnout and attract support from various sectors of society, with the aim of securing a majority and forming a new government.
They also agreed that “from today until the formation of the government, none of us, nor anyone acting on our behalf, will attack a partner party in the bloc or its leader.”
The leaders further pledged to work together immediately after the election to form the next government.
Lieberman pushes for focus on overall election result
The document also provides for the establishment of three joint working groups within 48 hours.
The first will focus on boosting turnout for the bloc, preparations for election day, and what the parties described as “safeguarding the integrity of the election.”
A second group will draft the basic guidelines of the government the opposition seeks to form, including “equality in sharing the burden,” establishing an official commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7, 2023, limiting the prime minister’s term in office, drafting a new constitution, and preparing a plan for the government’s first 100 days.
The third group will coordinate media activity among the parties and organize joint efforts to counter what the document described as “fake news and smear campaigns.”
The meeting followed disagreements among opposition leaders, particularly Eisenkot, Bennett, and Lieberman, over how to choose a unified candidate for prime minister.
Eisenkot had criticized Bennett and Lieberman for failing to set clear rules for selecting the bloc’s agreed candidate for prime minister, arguing that the lack of clarity is hurting the opposition camp’s electoral prospects.
Lieberman, meanwhile, called for focusing on the bloc’s overall election result rather than debating who will be ranked first or second as a candidate for prime minister.
Israel is scheduled to hold a general election on Oct. 27, with recent opinion polls showing Netanyahu’s bloc trailing the opposition camp.
Netanyahu has headed the current government since late December 2022 – a government described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history, and with dire results for the Palestinians of both Gaza and the West Bank.
He is standing trial on corruption charges, which he denies, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Critics in both Israel and abroad charge that Netanyahu has dragged out Israel’s military conflicts in order to repeatedly delay a possible conviction in his corruption trial.
