3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Nov 3, 2026 11:10 PM ISTIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves following exit polls for Israels national election, at Likuds election headquarters in Jerusalem, October 28, 2026; former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, waves an Israeli flag following the exit polls. (Reuters)The political deadlock in Israel after the October 27 parliamentary elections continues as the question of who will emerge as the leader lingers, while the opposition leaders agreed in a meeting on Tuesday to back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival and former military chief, Gadi Eisenkot, to form a new government and remained divided over Arab-led parties’ cooperation.During a 70-minute meeting in Israel’s Herzliya, the first since the election last month, the five party heads, Yashar’s Eisenkot, Beyachad’s Naftali Bennett, Atid’s Yair Lapid, Democrats’ Yair Golan and Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman agreed to immediately coordinate efforts in order to replace the Netanyahu-led government with a national emergency government, Al Jazeera reported. The Israeli election results left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Eisenkot-led bloc won 48 seats in the election.Opposition remains divided over Arab parties’ supportThe meeting and subsequent agreement come a day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to begin consultations with parties on who should form the next government in the country. However, Eisenkot-led bloc remained divided over taking support from Arab-led parties that include Ra’am and the Joint List that have secured 19 seats in the polls.In a joint statement, the leaders said, “The party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace the ‘Oct. 7 government’ with a national emergency government.” The leaders agreed to four principles laid down by Eisenkot, including that all parties recognise Israel as a Jewish state and designate Hamas a terrorist organisation. These conditions could lead to exclusion of some Arab-led parties.Arab-led parties emerge as potential kingmakersNetanyahu-led bloc won 53 seats, and the opposition-led Eisenkot bloc received 48 seats. However, the kingmaker in the Israeli elections could be the Arab-led parties with 19 seats. Head of Israel’s largest Arab-led party, Yousef Jabareen, said the opposition needed to accept “political reality” and join forces to remove Netanyahu.Democrats’ Golan is the sole opposition leader who has backed forming an alliance with Arab parties. He also met leaders of Arab-led parties ahead of the opposition meeting on Tuesday and promised to take action against crimes faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel.Liberman opposes alliance with Arab-led partiesHowever, Beytenu’s Liberman has firmly opposed aligning with Arab-led parties but has also expressed a desire to avoid another election in any scenario.Story continues below this adEditorial note: I have preserved the original wording, including the phrase “suspension over who will emerge” and the reported seat counts. You may want to fact-check these details and clarify the wording before publication.The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-dri... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram