Tel Aviv: Five Israeli opposition leaders have signed a joint pact to coordinate their efforts ahead of the October 27 Knesset election and seek to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Yair Lapid, Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan signed the principles document at Lapid’s home in Tel Aviv on Saturday, September 26.
The leaders acknowledged their ideological differences but agreed that forming a new government focused on “repair and rebuilding” was their shared objective.
Under the agreement, none of the leaders, or anyone acting on their behalf, will attack another party in the bloc or its leader until a new government is formed.
They also pledged to cooperate immediately after the election and work to increase voter turnout across different sections of the electorate.
Opposition bloc sets up three joint working groups
The pact requires three joint working groups to be established within 48 hours.
The first will handle voter mobilisation, election-day preparations and measures to safeguard the integrity of the vote.
The second will formulate the basic guidelines for a potential new government. Its agenda includes equal sharing of service obligations, a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 events, term limits for the prime minister, a constitution and a plan for the government’s first 100 days.
The third group will coordinate communications between the parties and work to counter fake news and smear campaigns.
Prime minister candidate decision deferred
The parties have not selected a joint candidate for prime minister. Disagreements over the issue have emerged particularly among Eisenkot, Bennett and Lieberman.
The agreement instead focuses on cooperation before and immediately after the election, leaving the leadership question to be addressed after the vote.
Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party was not part of the meeting.
Netanyahu responds
Netanyahu criticised the agreement in a post on X, claiming that Eisenkot would seek to form a government with the other opposition leaders and Arab parties.
He also shared an AI-altered version of the leaders’ group photograph that added United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas and Hadash-Ta’al leader Ahmad Tibi, neither of whom attended the meeting.
Israel is scheduled to elect all 120 members of the Knesset on October 27. The results will determine the composition of the next parliament and the parties involved in forming the government.
