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The struggle for power in Israel has entered a decisive phase as former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has been called to form a government. That development, however, is not in itself the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s record-long tenure, as his Likud party and its allies still remain the largest bloc in the Knesset, though short of a simple majority. The surprising swing of 19 Arab-Israeli candidates in Eisenkot’s favour, despite the General’s reservations, has rekindled the hope of seeing an end to the war criminal’s rule, as well as the hope that the Jewish state might take a break from aggression and aggrandisement. The son of Moroccan-born parents now has an opportunity in disaster to reshape Israel’s security and political profiles by, at the very least, trying to make it a normal state that learns to live in peace with its neighbors.
The October 27 vote that left behind a hung parliament is leading to real-time, tectonic political shifts. Although Eisenkot enjoys the support of 67 Knesset members in a house of 120, he also has fallback options in this political exigency. Given his deep reservations about relying on the Arab-led parties, he may instead settle for a unity government by striking a deal with Netanyahu. If so, it would likely reinforce Israel’s focus on extraterritorial misadventures – potentially triggering another round of conflict with Iran and further decimating the humanitarian index of uprooted Gazans. This is because both parties harbour a shared psyche of making Israel ‘invincible’ under what they view as divine dictates.
The most noticeable aspect of the electorate is the rise of the right wing. Netanyahu’s decades-long radicalisation of the political landscape has severely diminished the centre-left parties that once championed coexistence with Arabs and Palestinians and advocated for a two-state solution. The ground reality today is that a majority of nationalist parties outright reject an independent Palestinian state, making hardline politics the definitive way forward. It remains to be seen how the incoming leadership will try to make a difference – if at all.
