Israel’s coalition maths after Eisenkot’s endorsement: Analysis

Gadi Eisenkot has been endorsed by 67 of the 120 members of Israel’s Knesset, but his bloc of four parties has 48 seats, 13 short of the 61 needed for a majority government. Shanna Fuld of the Israel Daily News podcast says Eisenkot could add Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), which would give exactly 61, but they oppose conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, which he has campaigned for. She thinks a coalition with Arab parties is more likely, and says Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas has distanced himself from the Muslim Brotherhood. Nomi Bar-Yaacov of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy expects Eisenkot to go first for an emergency minority government backed from outside by the 19 Palestinian-Israeli MKs, then build on it, as he wants control of the Knesset speakership and committees. Political analyst Xavier Abu Eid says Eisenkot's coalition does not see the Joint List as a partner, but Palestinian-Israeli parties, whose priority is removing Netanyahu, will not veto a minority government. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://x.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook:   / aljazeera   Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page:   / aljazeeraenglish   Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #AlJazeeraEnglish #Israel #GadiEisenkot #Knesset #Netanyahu #IsraelPolitics #News