On Saturday, 8 November, Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the country’s next government, handing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger the first opportunity to assemble a coalition
The formal appointment is scheduled for Sunday, 8 November at 5:00 p.m. at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, following consultations with all parties after the 27 October election. Eisenkot, a former military chief and head of the Yashar party, will have 28 days to build a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension.
Eisenkot secured recommendations from parties representing 67 lawmakers, compared with 46 for Netanyahu’s bloc. However, his opposition bloc holds only 48 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. The support for Eisenkot includes members of Israel’s Arab minority, whose parties won a record 19 seats, but right-leaning segments of his own bloc have opposed relying on Arab votes.
נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג החליט להטיל על יו״ר מפלגת ׳ישר׳, גדי איזנקוט, את מלאכת הרכבת הממשלה. החלטת הנשיא התקבלה בתום סבב ההתייעצויות עם סיעות הכנסת, ולאחר שקיים במהלך הימים האחרונים שיחות עומק ובירורים נוספים עם גורמים שונים במערכת הפוליטית. במסגרת זו נועד הנשיא, בין היתר, עם ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ועם יו״ר מפלגת ׳ישר׳, גדי איזנקוט, להם מסר את כוונתו. בתום סבב ההתייעצויות המליצו בפני נשיא המדינה סיעות הכוללות 67 חברי כנסת על יו״ר מפלגת ׳ישר׳, גדי איזנקוט, להרכבת הממשלה. סיעות הכוללות 46 חברי כנסת המליצו על ראש הממשלה ויו״ר ׳הליכוד׳, ח״כ בנימין נתניהו, וסיעה הכוללת שבעה חברי כנסת בחרה שלא להמליץ על אף אחד. נשיא המדינה הזמין את גדי איזנקוט לבית הנשיא למעמד הטלת המנדט, שיתקיים מחר, יום ראשון, כ״ח בחשוון, 8 בנובמבר, בשעה 17:00.
— Office of the President of Israel (@IsraelPresident) November 7, 2026
“Now is the time to form a national emergency government,” Eisenkot wrote on X after the announcement, pledging to “do everything to ensure we are worthy”. His party also urged Netanyahu’s Likud allies to form a unity government led by Eisenkot and “publicly announce the dissolution of their alliance with the extremists”.
The political deadlock follows an inconclusive election in which neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor the opposition secured a majority, reflecting deep polarisation over Netanyahu’s hard-right rule and three years of war. Netanyahu has called for a unity government of “all the Zionist parties,” warning that a coalition relying on Arab lists would “dismantle the State of Israel from within”.
A key obstacle for Eisenkot is Avigdor Liberman, a hawkish member of his own bloc who has said he will not sit in a government that depends on Israeli-Arab votes. Eisenkot has not ruled out partnering with ultra-Orthodox parties, longtime Netanyahu allies, provided they meet his conditions on mandatory military service and a commitment to ending Hamas’s rule in Gaza.
If Eisenkot fails to assemble a coalition, Herzog is expected to turn to Netanyahu, who would then have 28 days to form a government. If that also fails, a majority of lawmakers could ask the president to tap another candidate, or Israel would head to another election.
