Israeli opposition unites in new forum to plan post-Netanyahu future

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Leaders of Israel’s opposition parties announced on Saturday that they have established a joint forum aimed at strengthening political coordination against the ruling coalition and outlining the framework for a future government.

The announcement followed a meeting between opposition leader Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beiteinu party chief Avigdor Lieberman, and fellow opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan.

In a joint statement after the talks, the leaders said they agreed to make the new Party Leaders Forum a permanent body and to hold its next session immediately after Yom Kippur—the Jewish Day of Atonement, which begins on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 1 and ends on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 2.

According to the statement, the forum will create a committee tasked with drafting the core principles of a prospective government.

These principles will include preparing a new constitution, implementing the principle of universal service, and safeguarding Israel’s character as a “Jewish, democratic and Zionist” state.

The opposition leaders also said that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz are expected to join the forum’s next meeting.

The statement underscored that the primary goal of the initiative is to “tighten the ranks within the opposition in preparation for the next political phase.”