Gadi Eisenkot is due to receive the formal mandate to form Israel’s next government at the presidential residence late on Sunday afternoon. President Isaac Herzog announced his decision on Saturday evening after several days of consultations with the parties elected to the Knesset.
The choice came down to the count of recommendations. Factions representing 67 of the 120 lawmakers, including Arab-led parties, backed the Yashar leader. Benjamin Netanyahu secured only 46. Voters had nonetheless put Likud in first place on October 27, with 27 seats to Yashar’s 21, but neither camp reached the 61-seat majority on its own.
A former chief of staff of the army from 2015 to 2019, Gadi Eisenkot joined Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. He left the following year, accusing the prime minister of failing to make progress toward ending the war in Gaza and freeing the hostages. He then founded Yashar, a centrist party built on fighting corruption and reforming government.
As soon as the decision was announced, he called for the formation of a « national emergency government ». On the other side, Benjamin Netanyahu used a video statement to call for a national unity government, provided it included all his partners from the outgoing coalition, among them far-right parties. He also warned against a government formed with those he describes as supporters of terrorism, a reference to the Arab-led parties. Yashar replied that Likud could join an Eisenkot-led coalition, without the components it considers extremist.
The road ahead remains difficult. The Arab-led parties that recommended Eisenkot are not guaranteed a place in his majority, and several of his potential partners pledged during the campaign not to govern with them. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which holds six seats, recommended Benjamin Netanyahu and denies any plan to join his rival. The conscription of religious students is another issue dividing the change bloc.
Gadi Eisenkot now has 28 days to put together a coalition, a deadline the president can extend by 14 days. Until a new government wins the confidence of the Knesset, Benjamin Netanyahu remains prime minister, and he could be given his own chance if his rival fails.