Israel's Arab parties split over a possible Eisenkot government

Support without an agreement

The United Arab List (Ra'am) party, led by Mansour Abbas, intends to support the potential government that Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot may form, even if no coalition agreement is signed. This was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing a party source , the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. 'Our party, which has eight Knesset members, will support Gadi Eisenkot's government even if a coalition agreement is not signed,' the source told the publication. The party itself had not commented on the report at the time of publication. It came a day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a new government.

The position of the second Arab party and the balance in the Knesset

The second Arab party, the Joint List led by Yousef Jabareen, according to Haaretz, will not vote for a government headed by Eisenkot without an agreement, but will not work to bring it down either. In the parliamentary elections held on October 27, the two Arab parties won a combined 19 mandates: eight for the United Arab List and 11 for the Joint List. Earlier, Abbas said his party would 'act in accordance with the will of the Arab public, which is to change the government (of Benjamin Netanyahu).' In the elections, parties opposed to Netanyahu won 67 seats, while his supporters won 53. At the same time, most leaders of the opposition parties, which hold a combined 48 mandates, are against forming a government relying on the Arab parties, and a majority requires 61 seats. According to the publication, the United Arab List's move is intended to reduce Eisenkot's bloc's dependence on the support of the ultra-Orthodox Torah and Judaism party.