Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has formally tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the country’s next government, passing over caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Eisenkot received the mandate yesterday at a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Herzog had announced his decision on the evening of November 7.
The former military chief of staff leads the centrist Yashar party, which came second in the October 27 general election with 21 seats. Netanyahu’s Likud finished first with 27.
During consultations that ended on November 5, factions holding 67 of the Knesset’s 120 seats recommended Eisenkot for the task. Some 46 lawmakers backed Netanyahu, while the seven members of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party endorsed neither candidate.
At the ceremony, Eisenkot said Israel was in a state of emergency and pledged to form a national emergency government. He warned that “creative and unconventional political steps will be required”, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Herzog urged him to do everything in his power to build a government “that will serve the entire people”. He also called on party leaders to work for national unity.
Under Basic Law: The Government, Eisenkot has 28 days to secure the backing of at least 61 lawmakers. Herzog may extend that period by up to 14 days.
If he fails, the president can hand the task to another member of the Knesset, who would have 28 days with no extension. Should that attempt also collapse, parliament would be dissolved and a fresh election held.
The arithmetic remains difficult. Neither bloc won a majority, with Netanyahu’s camp on 53 seats and Eisenkot’s on 48.
The gap is bridged by the Arab-led parties Ra’am and the Joint List, which won a record 19 seats between them and both recommended Eisenkot. Their recommendations do not commit them to joining his coalition, though.
Avigdor Lieberman, whose right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party sits in Eisenkot’s bloc, has ruled out a government that relies on Arab parties’ support. Netanyahu has seized on the issue, claiming in a recorded address on November 7 that some intended “to hurriedly swear in a government with supporters of terrorism”.
Eisenkot was due to meet Naftali Bennett, co-leader of B’Yachad, yesterday ahead of talks with Lieberman, according to Indian news agency ANI.
The European Union, Israel’s largest trading partner, has said it hopes to work closely with the incoming government. A spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Brussels wanted to address shared interests as well as existing disagreements, German Jewish weekly Jüdische Allgemeine reported.
Relations have been strained by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In April, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia renewed a push to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement but were blocked by Germany and Italy.
