JERUSALEM: President Isaac Herzog gave opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition after the Oct. 27 elections. The decision is a setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government will continue to serve only in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed.
Herzog formally tasked Yashar party leader Eisenkot, a former military chief, on Sunday, after first announcing his intent on Saturday night. Herzog met with both Eisenkot and Netanyahu in recent days before making his decision.
At the ceremony at the President’s Residence, Herzog told Eisenkot that the eyes of the entire nation were upon him. He also said Eisenkot had secured clear support to form a government.
Eisenkot’s bloc won 48 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, and the two Arab parties, which together won 19 seats, backed his bid. A governing majority requires 61 seats. In consultations with the president, 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot, while 46 recommended Netanyahu. Aides to the president had signaled for days that Eisenkot was the likely choice.
Despite the recommendations, vetoes by rival parties complicate Eisenkot’s 67-seat backing. Whether partners in his own bloc will accept a government that depends on Arab parties remains unresolved. Netanyahu, for his part, warned that Israel “simply will not survive” under such a government.
Under Basic Law: The Government, Eisenkot has 28 days, and Herzog can extend that by up to 14 days. If he fails, the president can assign another candidate 28 days to try. If that attempt also fails, at least 61 lawmakers have 21 days to request an alternative candidate, who then gets 14 days. If that effort fails, a new national election is held in about 90 days.
The sequence does not automatically return the mandate to Netanyahu. The second candidate would be Herzog’s choice. If the process ends in new elections, Netanyahu would remain caretaker prime minister in the interim.
This is the closest Netanyahu has come to losing power since 2021, but the outcome is far from settled. Eisenkot has said he wants to form a “national emergency government.”