United Arab List to back possible Eisenkot-led gov't in Israel without coalition deal: Report

United Arab List (Ra'am), a political party in Israel headed by Mansour Abbas, intends to support a possible government to be formed by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot even without a coalition agreement, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Sunday.

"Our party, which has eight Knesset members, will support a Gadi Eisenkot government even if no coalition agreement is signed," Haaretz quoted a party source as saying.

The party did not immediately comment on the report, which came a day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a new government.

The report said the move is intended to avoid the risks of Eisenkot's bloc relying on support from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party.

For its part, the Joint List, another Arab party in Israel headed by Yousef Jabareen, "will not vote in favor of an Eisenkot-led government without an agreement, but it will not work to bring it down," the newspaper said.

The two Arab parties won a combined 19 seats in the Oct. 27 legislative elections, with eight going to the United Arab List and 11 to the Joint List.

Mansour Abbas had previously stated that the United Arab List would "act in accordance with the will of the Arab public, which is to change the government (of Benjamin Netanyahu)."

Parties opposed to Netanyahu won 67 seats in the elections, while parties backing him won 53.

Most leaders of the Israeli opposition parties oppose forming a government that relies on Arab parties. Those opposition parties hold 48 seats in total, short of the 61 needed for a majority.