Gadi Eisenkot tasked with forming new Israeli government after Netanyahu loss

Israel's political landscape shifted dramatically on Saturday, according to NPR reporting, when President Isaac Herzog bypassed incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and designated opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the country's next government. The decision follows the October general elections in which Netanyahu's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority, plunging the nation into deep political uncertainty after years of conflict in Gaza and across the Middle East. Eisenkot now faces an uphill battle to bridge deep ideological divides among prospective coalition partners.

The mandate was formally announced late Saturday after Herzog concluded consultations with party representatives elected in the October vote, as reported by the Boston Globe. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc fell from 64 seats secured in 2022 down to 53 seats, leaving his coalition eight seats short of the 61 required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, according to Yahoo News.

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Al Arabiya English | Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot ...

Following the announcement, Eisenkot took to social media to signal his intentions. Now is the time to form a national emergency government. I will do everything to ensure we are worthy, Eisenkot posted on X, a sentiment echoed by his supporters who view the transition as a vital chance to unseat Israel's longest-serving leader. Eisenkot's potential coalition spans his Yashar party, Yair Golan's centre-left Democrats, Naftali Bennett's centre-right Together party, and Avigdor Lieberman's right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu. Yet these factions hold sharply conflicting positions on national security, religion, and the status of Palestinian territories.

To secure the necessary 61-seat threshold, Al-Monitor reports that Eisenkot must navigate three distinct, highly fraught paths. The first option involves a minority government supported from the outside by Arab-led parties such as Ra'am and the Joint List. While those 19 combined seats would give the broader anti-Netanyahu camp 67 supporting votes, prominent figures within Eisenkot's bloc — including Lieberman — have adamantly rejected relying on Arab lawmakers to sustain an administration, fearing political backlash and future instability.

The second option requires reaching an agreement with Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, which collectively hold 13 seats. Securing their backing would push Eisenkot's bloc to the exact 61-seat majority required. Yet this path demands painful compromises over long-standing military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox seminary students, a practice heavily criticized by Eisenkot and Lieberman. In a notable shift, Lieberman recently signaled an openness to compromise on the conscription issue to break the deadlock, the Algemeiner detailed.

The third path involves a broad national unity government incorporating Netanyahu's Likud party alongside Eisenkot's bloc. Such an alliance would command 67 seats but would force Eisenkot and his partners to abandon their central electoral promise to remove Netanyahu from power. Netanyahu has aggressively campaigned against any alliance involving Arab parties, releasing video statements warning against what he termed partnering with terrorist supporters, language he applies to Arab factions. Eisenkot's campaign rejected the remarks as hysterical, pointing out that Netanyahu himself faces mounting pressure after years of political fractures and ongoing security inquiries related to the October 7, 2023, attacks.

With the mandate formally handed over, the constitutional clock is ticking. Eisenkot has 28 days to cobble together a coalition, with a potential 14-day extension available from President Herzog if negotiations stall. If Eisenkot fails to secure an administration within that window, the mandate could shift to Netanyahu or another lawmaker. Should all coalition efforts collapse after a 100-day process, Israel will head back to the polls for a fresh round of elections early next spring. Meanwhile, newly elected members of the Knesset are scheduled to be sworn in, and Netanyahu will remain in office as a caretaker prime minister with limited powers until a new government is successfully installed.