Opposition bloc leaders to meet Tuesday in Herzliya as parties rally behind Eisenkot
Opposition leaders are set to meet Tuesday in Herzliya for the first time since the election, with several parties backing Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister.
The leaders of Israel's four-party opposition bloc are set to hold their first joint meeting since last week's election on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzliya, according to a statement from Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party.
Yashar said the leaders would "discuss coordinating the bloc's next steps." Eisenkot, Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu, Yair Golan of the Democrats and Naftali Bennett of B'Yachad are expected to attend, along with Bennett's No. 2, Yair Lapid.
Liberman, Golan and Bennett have each said their parties will recommend Eisenkot as the next prime minister. President Isaac Herzog is widely expected to give the mandate to form a government to whoever receives the most recommendations.
Last week's vote produced no majority for either Eisenkot's bloc or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc.
The opposition parties are also reportedly weighing using their parliamentary majority to replace Likud MK Amir Ohana as Knesset speaker with Lapid before moving to form a government. Liberman said he would support the move.
The meeting is a planned gathering. No coalition has been formed and no mandate has been awarded.