Israeli President Isaac Herzog has asked former army chief Gadi Eisenkot to form the country’s next government, passing over Benjamin Netanyahu in the first step towards ending the prime minister’s long hold on power.
Key Points
- Eisenkot to form government — Herzog announced on Saturday that Eisenkot will receive the first mandate to form a government.
- Eisenkot was recommended by 67 lawmakers, against 46 for Netanyahu; seven recommended no one.
- The formal mandate will be presented at a ceremony on Sunday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
- Eisenkot has 28 days to build a coalition of at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
The decision followed a week of consultations with all parties after the 27 October general election left neither side with a majority, in a country deeply polarised by Netanyahu’s hard-right rule and worn down by three years of war. Herzog met both Netanyahu and Eisenkot before announcing his choice on Saturday evening.
Eisenkot, leader of the centrist Yashar party, was recommended by parties representing 67 lawmakers, including members of Arab-led parties. Netanyahu’s bloc received 46 recommendations. Eisenkot’s own four-party alliance won 48 seats in the election, compared with 53 for Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc — but the recommendation count, not the seat count, decides who gets the first chance.
Eisenkot is a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff who entered politics in 2022, and he has pledged unequivocally that he will not serve under Netanyahu in any rotation agreement. Herzog acknowledged during the consultations that the endorsement figures alone could not resolve the competing demands of prospective coalition partners, citing what he called “mutual vetoes between and within the blocs” — a warning that the numbers favouring Eisenkot do not yet amount to a governing majority.
A difficult coalition to build
The mandate is only the start of a hard negotiation. Eisenkot must assemble at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, and his 67 recommendations include Arab-led parties he has ruled out governing with. He has also ruled out serving in a coalition led by Netanyahu, and has called for a national emergency government.
Netanyahu has called for a unity government, but the opposition has stood firm on removing him first. He remains caretaker prime minister while the negotiations continue, and he has warned against any government that relies on Arab-led parties.
What happens next
Eisenkot will formally receive the mandate at 5pm local time on Sunday. Under Israel’s Basic Law, he then has 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension from Herzog. If he fails, the president can task another Knesset member, and if that attempt also fails, a new election would be called within 90 days.
For background on the coalition arithmetic, see our report on Arab parties supporting Gadi Eisenkot in an Israel coalition, and on Israel facing uncertainty in forming a new government. More in our World News section.
Sources: Al Jazeera, “Israel’s president picks Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form next government“; NDTV, “Eisenkot Gets Mandate To Form Israel Government, Netanyahu Fights For Survival“.