Israeli Parties Split Over How to Take Office After Election

Israel's opposition bloc is divided over how to assemble a government after the next election, with senior figures at odds on whether to seek power without a full majority in parliament. Gadi Eisenkot has proposed forming a cabinet that takes office through a confidence vote without the 61 seats needed for a permanent majority, then works to expand its support in the Knesset. Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman reject the approach.

Eisenkot wants to lead the bloc and serve as its candidate to form the next government. He has said he would not join a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, including through a rotating premiership, and has raised the minority plan as an option if the change-seeking parties win 58 or 59 seats. He has not ruled out backing from the Ra'am party, though no agreement exists on how that support would work.

The legal path to taking office is narrower than it appears. A government needs a majority in the confidence vote, not 61 affirmative votes, so abstentions can clear the threshold. A constructive vote of no confidence, which replaces an incumbent government, requires 61 lawmakers to back an alternative. That distinction means the minority route could help a new cabinet take shape, but it would not remove a sitting Netanyahu government.

Liberman has ruled out a minority government, including a transitional one, and insists on a Zionist majority from the start. He also rejects a unity government with Netanyahu, saying a new election would be preferable to a cabinet that fails his conditions. He has floated bringing Likud lawmakers into a government without Netanyahu and said some would be willing, but he has named no one and no public talks with Likud members are under way.

Bennett and Lapid, who lead the Beyachad list, also demand a Zionist government and refuse to rely on votes or abstentions from Arab parties. Democrats chairman Yair Golan has not ruled out cooperation with Ra'am. A meeting this week between Eisenkot and Liberman ended with a joint appeal for higher turnout but did not resolve their disagreement. The two also differ on who should lead: Eisenkot wants to head the largest party, while Bennett points to his experience as prime minister.

The bloc is also moving on a separate track to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana before any government is formed. Control of the parliamentary agenda would matter even if Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister. The speaker is chosen by public vote early in a new Knesset's term, and the bloc could count on Arab party lawmakers to reach a majority behind a agreed candidate. Names discussed include Chili Tropper, Matan Kahana and Elazar Stern from Eisenkot's list; Meirav Ben-Ari and Eitan Ginzburg from the Bennett-Lapid list; Efrat Rayten of the Democrats; and Oded Forer of Yisrael Beytenu. No candidate has been agreed.

Liberman said this week that as many as one-third of outgoing coalition lawmakers might vote against Ohana, though they would have to do so in public. The bloc has also set out plans for a state commission of inquiry into October 7, changes to conscription law, limits on the prime minister's tenure, and repeal of parts of the outgoing government's judicial overhaul. Liberman additionally wants a bar on people facing criminal charges serving as prime minister. No binding agreement exists on the details or their order, though party teams have begun coordinating.