Israeli president taps Netanyahu rival to form government as coalition battle looms

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday that he has chosen opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the country's next government, handing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief rival the first opportunity to build a coalition following an inconclusive national election.

Herzog announced his decision on Nov. 7, but the formal presentation of the mandate is scheduled for Sunday, November 8, at 5 p.m. Israeli time. Eisenkot will then have 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension.

The decision could mark a significant step toward ending Netanyahu’s tenure, but it would also launch a difficult round of coalition negotiations, with deep disagreements among parties seeking to replace him.

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Following two days of consultations with Israel’s newly elected parliament, Herzog announced Thursday that factions representing 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members had recommended Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, to form the next government. Netanyahu received the backing of 46 lawmakers, while seven members of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party declined to endorse either candidate.

"The results of the consultations may appear clear," Herzog said in his Nov. 5 statement, but cautioned that competing political demands and vetoes have left the prospects for forming a government uncertain.

The challenge facing Eisenkot is that the 67 endorsements do not translate into a 67-seat governing coalition.

In the October 27 election, Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest single party with 27 seats, while his wider political bloc won 53. The four-party alliance seeking to replace him secured just 48 seats.

The remaining endorsements for Eisenkot came from two Arab-led parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, which together hold 19 seats. Although both recommended Eisenkot to the president, their support presents a dilemma for some of his prospective coalition partners, who have ruled out depending on Arab parties to establish a government.

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In a lengthy statement Friday, Eisenkot outlined his plan to establish what he called a National Emergency Government, initially based on the four parties committed to replacing Netanyahu, while leaving the door open for additional parties and lawmakers to join.

"Israel is facing a genuine, tangible and dangerous national emergency," Eisenkot said. He accused the outgoing government of threatening Israeli democracy and warned that continued political instability could deepen the country's security and diplomatic challenges.

Eisenkot said negotiations with his political partners had already produced significant progress and that further talks were underway.

His proposed government would be based on four founding principles: recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; acceptance of the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence; universal military, national or civilian service; and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization, alongside a commitment to dismantle its military and governing capabilities.

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Eisenkot said he would invite lawmakers from across the political spectrum to join his government if they accepted those principles.

But even within the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu, disagreements remain over how to secure the parliamentary support needed to govern.

One potentially significant development came Friday when Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, signaled a willingness to compromise on military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews, reversing a position that had long prevented political cooperation with religious parties.

In a statement posted on X, Lieberman argued that preventing another election and ending Netanyahu’s time in office would require difficult political compromises.

He identified three conditions: ending the Netanyahu era, avoiding another election and refusing to establish a government dependent on the abstention of the Joint List and Ra’am.

On other matters, including the contentious military draft law, Lieberman said political leaders must be prepared to compromise.

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The shift could open a path to negotiations with United Torah Judaism, whose seven lawmakers withheld their recommendation from Netanyahu despite the party’s long standing political alliance with him.

United Torah Judaism leader Yaakov Asher welcomed Lieberman's flexibility Friday, but said his party had not yet received a concrete proposal and that any agreement would require approval from its religious leadership.

The conscription dispute remains a major obstacle. Ultra-Orthodox parties have sought legal protections for yeshiva students who study religious texts rather than serve in the military, while Eisenkot and several of his partners campaigned on expanding the obligation to serve.

Even bringing United Torah Judaism into the four-party opposition bloc would leave Eisenkot short of the 61 seats needed for an outright parliamentary majority. The religious Shas party, which holds six seats, recommended Netanyahu to Herzog.

A different possibility would be a minority government established with the help of abstentions from parties outside the coalition, an option discussed by Eisenkot’s allies but explicitly rejected by Lieberman if it depends on the Arab factions.

The disagreement exposes the central difficulty facing Eisenkot: although a majority of lawmakers recommended that he receive the first opportunity to form a government, they have not agreed on how such a government should be constituted.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister as the political negotiations continue.

The prime minister has also challenged aspects of the election results amid an investigation into suspected voting irregularities. However, Israel’s Central Elections Committee said the integrity of the election had not been compromised, according to Reuters on November 5.

For Eisenkot, receiving the presidential mandate would be an important political milestone. But turning his broad parliamentary endorsement into a functioning government will require agreements among parties divided over some of Israel’s most contentious domestic issues, particularly military service and cooperation with Arab lawmakers.

Failure to bridge those divisions could leave Israel facing further political deadlock — and potentially another election.