Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he is open to discussions about forming a broad-based government, while insisting that he remain in office as prime minister.
Speaking on the social media platform X, Netanyahu stated that Likud “aspires to form a broad government with our partners and with any party willing to join, provided it does not support terrorism.”
“I am open to holding a dialogue on this matter,” he added.
Netanyahu argued that the Israeli public does not want a government reliant on Ra’am and the Joint List, the two Arab parliamentary factions.
“From the outset, we have extended our hand to establish a broad national government,” he said.
The prime minister also asserted that he has a mandate to continue leading the country following last week’s parliamentary elections.
“A clear majority of the Jewish public selected Likud as the largest party and chose me as prime minister to head the next government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Naftali Bennett’s Together party, Yair Golan’s Democrats, and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu have agreed to recommend that President Isaac Herzog entrust Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government.
The endorsement from these opposition parties brings Eisenkot’s backing to 48 lawmakers.
The two Arab parliamentary lists are also expected to support Eisenkot, which could increase his total to 67 members in the 120-seat Knesset.
Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in last week’s vote, compared with 48 for opposition parties and 19 for Arab parties, leaving neither side with an outright parliamentary majority.
However, recommendations to the president do not automatically guarantee a governing coalition. Lieberman has ruled out joining a government that includes Arab parties or relies on their parliamentary support.
President Herzog is set to begin two days of consultations with parliamentary factions on Wednesday before selecting a lawmaker to receive the mandate to form the next government.
