From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Likud attacks opposition over possible cooperation with Arab, Haredi parties
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party lash out at opposition leaders following their meeting in Herzliya, targeting two potential avenues for forming a government without Netanyahu: cooperation with Arab or with ultra-Orthodox parties.
“While Prime Minister Netanyahu extended a hand to establish a broad national government, they intend to form a dangerous government reliant on supporters of terrorism,” the party says, questioning how such a government would handle the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran “when key members of it are unwilling to call Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations,” referring to the Arab-majority Joint List and Ra’am.
The attack comes despite most of the Jewish opposition parties having ruled out relying on Arab parties to form a government, even though their support would give the anti-Netanyahu bloc a clear majority.
Opposition leaders have also rejected a unity government with Netanyahu, whom they hold responsible for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and deeply distrust after he systematically undermined and sidelined partners in previous unity governments.
The premier separately accuses the opposition of hypocrisy over the possibility of cooperating with ultra-Orthodox parties despite its pledges to introduce universal conscription, after Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman stopped short of ruling out cooperation with Haredi parties at a press briefing yesterday, and amid reports that United Torah Judaism, a longtime Netanyahu ally, is considering supporting an Eisenkot-led government.
Having lost his parliamentary majority in last week’s election, Netanyahu has no apparent path to forming a government of his own. With Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot expected to receive the first mandate from President Isaac Herzog to form a coalition, Netanyahu’s efforts appear aimed at preventing the opposition from assembling a government, potentially forcing another election.
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