In a significant development following Israel's Oct. 27 elections, President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday night that he has tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government, a move that places the former military chief on a path to potentially ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog’s decision comes after consultations with party representatives, most of whom recommended Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party, as the candidate most likely to secure a parliamentary majority. Eisenkot now has up to six weeks to assemble a governing coalition in a deeply divided political landscape.
What the Left Is Saying
Opposition figures and Arab-led parties view the appointment as a validation of the election results and a rejection of attempts to delegitimize their political gains. Eisenkot has indicated a willingness to partner with Arab parties under specific conditions, including requiring them to recognize Hamas as a terrorist group that must be destroyed.
Yashar party representatives issued a statement on social media platform X urging Likud members to disavow their alliances with "radical parties," a reference to the far-right components of Netanyahu's bloc. They argued that Eisenkot would only include parties and parliament members who support the principles of the Yashar platform.
What the Right Is Saying
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his allies have intensified efforts to block any alliance between Eisenkot and Arab-led parties. In a video statement released shortly before Herzog’s announcement, Netanyahu called for a "national unity government" and warned against "hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters," using this language to refer to the Arab parties.
Netanyahu’s camp has previously made unsubstantiated claims that Arab parties "stole" the elections. His allies have repeatedly portrayed the Arab-led parties as a threat to national security, while Netanyahu’s Likud party remains the single largest faction in parliament.
What the Numbers Show
Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor Eisenkot’s camp secured an outright majority in the Oct. 27 elections, leaving Arab-led parties, which made historic gains, as potential kingmakers. An Arab party has been part of an Israeli governing coalition only once in the country's history.
The formation of a coalition is complicated by deep ideological divides, including Netanyahu’s reliance on religious parties that demand draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men and his opposition to a formal investigation into the security failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks. Eisenkot’s camp has pushed for such an investigation.
The Bottom Line
Eisenkot faces a challenging task in bridging the gap between secular opposition parties and Arab factions, or potentially forming a minority government supported externally by Arab parties, a scenario other members of his bloc have stated they would reject. The next six weeks will determine whether a broad unity government can be formed or if Israel heads toward another election, amid ongoing wars in Gaza and the region.
Key issues to watch include the feasibility of a minority government, the stance of Likud defectors, and whether Netanyahu can leverage his control over religious parties to force new elections or extract concessions in a unity deal.