Israeli Opposition Backs Eisenkot to Replace Netanyahu

Israeli opposition leaders have agreed to support former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister to remove Benjamin Netanyahu from power as quickly as possible. The decision was made at a joint meeting of five opposition parties in Herzliya on Tuesday. This was their first meeting since the October 27 general election, in which no party secured a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, opposition parties won 48, and Arab-led parties won 19, with 61 seats needed to form a government. The leaders said they would recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog and begin work on policy guidelines and coalition agreements. The meeting included former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Golan, and Yair Lapid. The leaders agreed on four principles proposed by Eisenkot, including recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and designating Hamas as a terrorist organization, which could exclude Arab-led parties from the coalition.