Israel's Opposition Bloc Says It Will Not Let Chance to Replace Netanyahu Slip Away
As official election results were awaited on Tuesday evening, sources in the opposition bloc said party leaders must be ready to compromise to form a government.
By Liam Kaminski ·
Parties seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government waited for official election results on Tuesday evening, and a firm message was already circulating behind the scenes: the opposition does not intend to squander this opportunity.
Sources in the bloc told Walla that, given the effort invested in the campaign, there will be no second chances. One source said that "all the stars aligned" in this race.
According to the source, the aftermath of October 7 and the haredi issue, which hurt right-wing parties and pushed voters away from them, helped the opposition build a united bloc of people from the Right, the Center and the Left. The source described four tightly knit parties with surplus-vote agreements, while the Right, in their telling, failed to organize and wasted votes.
The bloc also ran what the source called an unprecedented get-out-the-vote drive. "We brought people from abroad especially to vote; we made an enormous effort to reach maximum voter turnout; we activated all the systems. Now we need to form a government. Period," the source said. That effort, the source argued, obliges party leaders to seize the moment.
The bloc acknowledges that building a coalition could demand painful compromises. These might include backing away from campaign pledges and even striking deals with parties that some of its leaders vowed never to sit with in government. The sources said there will be no patience this time for ego battles or for clinging to campaign promises.
"Whoever needs to break promises, let him break them; whoever needs to swallow his pride, let him swallow it. There's no choice. It's now or never," the source said.
The source also pointed to demographics as a reason for urgency. "Next time, the demographic changes, and especially the growth of the haredi population, may already make their mark. It's not certain we'll get an opportunity like this again."
Despite the determination, the bloc understands that everything depends on the final results and on whether it can assemble a parliamentary majority capable of replacing the government. Still, the message passed to party leaders on Tuesday evening was plain: if the numbers allow it, no one can afford to be the one who let the opportunity slip.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
