Israel’s president taps Eisenkot to form government after no clear majority

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Saturday tasked opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new government, following the October 27 elections that left no clear majority. President Herzog informed Eisenkot of his decision on Saturday evening, November 7, 2026. Eisenkot is scheduled to formally receive the mandate to form a government at a ceremony at the presidential residence on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 5 PM local time.Eisenkot, a former military chief and leader of the Yashar party, posted on his X account after the announcement, stating, “This is the time to establish a national emergency government. I will do anything possible to prove us worthy.”Eisenkot will have 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension from the president. A minimum of 61 seats is required for a majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.In the October 27 election, Eisenkot’s four-party alliance secured 48 seats, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc won 53 seats. Arab-led parties achieved a record 19 seats. Sixty-seven lawmakers recommended Eisenkot to form the new government, while 46 backed Netanyahu.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have consistently portrayed Arab-led parties as a threat to national security. Ahead of Herzog’s announcement, Netanyahu called for a “national unity government” in a video statement and warned against “hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters,” a term he uses to refer to Arab-led parties. He also cautioned that a government formed by the opposition bloc with the support of Arab-led parties would lead to Israel’s collapse.Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Joint List, a coalition of Arab-led parties, responded to Netanyahu’s remarks by stating that Netanyahu is the biggest terrorist in Israel and the region, and the foremost supporter of terrorism.Eisenkot’s Yashar party criticized the prime minister’s video, urging members of Netanyahu’s Likud party to disavow their alliance with “radical parties,” referring to the far-right parties in Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist base. The Yashar party stated that Eisenkot would only include parties and parliament members who support his party’s principles.Eisenkot has outlined four conditions for forming a government: recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, adherence to the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, mandatory military service for all citizens, and a commitment to dismantling Hamas’s military and administrative authority, recognizing it as a terrorist organization.The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, following an attack by Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups on Israel, which killed 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals and took 251 hostages. Since then, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 74,640 Palestinians by November 7, 2026.Eisenkot has stated that Hamas is a “terrorist group” that needs to be destroyed. While he has ruled out forming a government with Arab-led parties, the possibility of external support from them remains open.Deep differences exist between Eisenkot and Netanyahu on many issues. Netanyahu relies on religious parties that demand draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men and opposes a formal investigation into the security failures surrounding the October 7 attacks. These disagreements could make it difficult to form a broad unity government.