Opposition party leaders meet in Tel Aviv / Will they unite against Netanyahu?
According to the Israeli Channel 13 television, the main leaders of the opposition parties met for the first time in five months yesterday evening (Saturday) to overthrow the current Prime Minister of the regime, Benjamin Netanyahu, and reached an agreement on the establishment of a “permanent assembly.”
According to the report, “Benny Gantz”, the head of the “Government Camp” party, and “Naftali Bennett”, the former Prime Minister, did not attend the meeting, and the heads of the Arab parties were not invited either.
According to sources, “Yair Lapid”, the leader of the opposition, clearly announced that he intends to hold another meeting in about two to three weeks to assess the level of commitment and ability of all parties to cooperate.
The meeting was held at a time when there had been many disagreements between senior opposition figures this week, including a clash between Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, a former member of the Knesset Security Cabinet, as well as a dispute over the leadership of the bloc.
Despite efforts to bridge the gaps, disagreements over the leadership of the left bloc are said to continue to cloud their cooperation.
In a joint statement issued by the party leaders after the meeting, Yair Lapid, Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, the head of the Israel Democrats, and Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the Israel Our Home party, said they agreed to establish a permanent assembly. In the statement, the opposition leaders called on Naftali Bennett and Benny Gantz to join them in future meetings.
Lapid said at the meeting: The opposition has decided to form a committee to outline the outlines of the future cabinet, and will set guidelines for military service and Israel’s identity as a Jewish, democratic, and Zionist state.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s opponents see the continuation of the war in Gaza as dangerous, not for the regime’s interests, but for Netanyahu’s personal interests. In doing so, the opposition leaders are seeking to overthrow Netanyahu’s cabinet and are trying to establish an alternative to the Likud party.
According to the latest Ma’ariv poll, the escalation of the Gaza war and Netanyahu’s refusal to prioritize the return of Israeli prisoners have weakened Netanyahu’s coalition, bringing its number to 49 seats, while the opposition parties claim that, not counting the ten seats of the Arab parties, they are also capable of winning and forming a cabinet.