Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 04.11.2026
Eisenkot, Bennett, Liberman, Golan and Lapid all met on Tuesday, and at the end of the meeting, Bennett said, “We don’t have time, we will take the mandate and work to establish a Zionist government of correction.” Lapid: “We need to remove Netanyahu from the bureau.” Golan ruled out joining unity with Netanyahu and asked whether the decision not to cooperate with the Arab parties was final. Liberman answered “yes,” and the rest nodded yes. There is no agreement on the identity of the Knesset speaker.
The leaders of the Change Bloc also said in a statement: “The leaders of the Change and Correction parties met a short time ago in Herzliya for the first joint discussion in which the action plan for the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset and the formation of the 38th government was done as soon as possible. The heads of the parties are coordinating on the need to establish a Zionist government based on the four principles set by Eisenkot, as soon as possible. At the meeting, the heads of the parties emphasized their full commitment to implementing the decision of the citizens of Israel, who voted unequivocally and clearly in favor of change and against the continuation of the current government – the seven-year government in October. The heads of the parties coordinated plans and measures to realize the parliamentary majority, immediately – already in the first days of the Knesset.”
Eisenkot declared in an interview a few days ago: “I see as a possible partner anyone who accepts Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, the values of the Declaration of Independence and the obligation to serve.
Eisenkot added that in the past month he had concluded that some of the Arab parties do not define Hamas as a terrorist organization. As a result, he said, he wants to include an additional condition in the guidelines of the next government: Anyone who does not accept that Hamas is a terrorist organization that must be dismantled and destroyed will not be a partner in the government. “Therefore, I don’t see an Arab party that accepts my principles,” he said. According to the statement: “The heads of the parties discussed the dangerous and disorderly delegitimization campaign that the Likud and Netanyahu are carrying out against the results of the elections and the Central Elections Committee and expressed their uncompromising commitment to protecting the results of the elections and the democratic process. In accordance with the agreement of the heads of the parties, all the parties will recommend to the President of the State the chairman of the Yashar Party! Gadi Eisenkot, to receive the first mandate to form a government, with the aim of forming a government as quickly as possible and preventing Israel from being dragged into another election. At the meeting, it was decided that the parties’ negotiating teams would begin working immediately to formulate the basic guidelines and agreements for the formation of the 38th government. The heads of the parties agreed to continue continuous and close coordination in the coming days until the new government is sworn in.”
According to the statement: “The heads of the parties discussed the dangerous and disorderly delegitimization campaign that the Likud and Netanyahu are carrying out against the results of the elections and the Central Elections Committee and expressed their uncompromising commitment to protecting the results of the elections and the democratic process. In accordance with the agreement of the heads of the parties, all the parties will recommend to the President of the State the chairman of the Yashar Party! Gadi Eisenkot, to receive the first mandate to form a government, with the aim of forming a government as quickly as possible and preventing Israel from being dragged into another election. At the meeting, it was decided that the parties’ negotiating teams would begin working immediately to formulate the basic guidelines and agreements for the formation of the 38th government. The heads of the parties agreed to continue continuous and close coordination in the coming days until the new government is sworn in.”
The meeting was attended by the heads of the four parties in the bloc, which together had 48 seats, and they needed at least 13 more seats to guarantee their government, while Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 seats, and the realistic possibility that he will continue to be prime minister of the interim government until the results of the next elections.
During the meeting, the need to first receive the mandate from the president to form a government was emphasized. Regarding the identity of the Knesset speaker who is slated to replace Amir Ohana, Bennett and Liberman did not receive Eisenkot’s consent to appoint Lapid to the position. The decision at this stage is that the identity of the designated Knesset speaker will be determined on Sunday and Monday next week, before the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.
At the meeting, the possibility of cooperation with the ultra-Orthodox were not ruled out. Yair Golan raised the issue of the Arab parties and asked whether the decision not to cooperate with them was final. Liberman replied to Golan that the decision was final, and Eizenkot and Bennett nodded in agreement with the Yisrael Beitenu chairman’s remarks. The Democrats, for its part, announced that it would not be part of a unity government with Netanyahu. “If it goes to unity, we’re out,” the Democrats said.
Against the backdrop of the Likud’s claims of “election theft” and the ongoing investigation into the matter, Lapid said, “We are facing an extreme and dangerous attempt to invalidate the elections. I was presented with all the intelligence material, the elections were normal, there is no reason to cancel them. They are simply not willing to admit that they lost. Now we have to go and form a government, Netanyahu and his people have caused enough damage to the State of Israel and the people of Israel.”
Golan, who has pushed for cooperation with the Arab parties, met this morning before a meeting with the heads of the Joint List, Yosef Jabareen and Ahmad Tibi, on “the steps required to replace the Netanyahu government and form a government of change.” Liberman, for his part, did not rule out a government with the ultra-Orthodox. In a post he published, he wrote: “We must prevent another election. In the political situation that has been created, there is enough room for maneuvering, and with the right navigation, it is possible to quickly establish a functioning and stable government without Ra’am and the Joint List.”
Eisenkot, of course, does not object to the Arab parties supporting his government from the outside, as the leaders of Ra’am and the Joint List have promised.
In a conversation with Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh, he said that Balad would not support a Zionist government.
Eisenkot is determined to promote the formation of a minority government and has decided to emphasize, among other things, the ultra-Orthodox parties, but he has also not publicly announced that he rejects reliance on or reliance on the Arab parties, nor has he ruled out a unity government, except for the fear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will once again try to manipulate his partners.
There is no doubt that the Palestinian citizens of Israel voted under the illusion that the Arab parties would enter a government that would replace Netanyahu and receive benefits. The attitude of the parties in the Eisenkot bloc is a slap in the face and a kick, and it must be understood that the high cost of the war will be paid by the weak citizens of Israel, first and foremost the Palestinian citizens of the Zionist state. The Joint List is not concerned about the masses of Palestinians, but rather it is a despicable attempt to integrate into Zionist society, if only by abandoning the masses of Palestinians living under occupation.
Clearly, the sickness of Eisenkot et company is in deeply rooted racism of the settler colonialists, and the current outcome is also because of the leaders of the joint list naked opportunism.
The only possible democratic unity between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinian nation is in the struggle for a red democratic Palestinian state from the river to the sea. The Palestinian refugees will be welcome and the Jews will have equal civil rights.