President Herzog Hands Eisenkot Mandate To Form Next Israeli Government In Major Blow To Netanyahu

Jerusalem: Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday night that he was giving opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition following elections on October 27. Eisenkot, a former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), who ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is now a step closer to ousting Israel's longest-serving premier.

In a major setback for incumbent PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog on Saturday formally decided to task Yashar Party chairman and former Military Chief Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government, after a clear majority of Knesset lawmakers endorsed him over the incumbent PM Netanyahu.

Numbers Behind The Decision

The decision followed massive consultations between President Herzog and representatives of all political factions in the 120-seat Knesset, as well as direct deliberations with both Netanyahu and Eisenkot.

In an official statement released on social media platform X, the Office of the President of Israel confirmed that Eisenkot had secured overwhelming parliamentary backing. "President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog has decided to task the chairman of the Yashar party, Gadi Eisenkot, with forming the government. The president's decision was made at the conclusion of the round of consultations with Knesset factions, and after holding in-depth conversations and further inquiries with various figures in the political system over the past few days. As part of this process, the president met, among others, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with the chairman of the Yashar party, Gadi Eisenkot, to whom he conveyed his intention," the statement read.

The consultation tally showed that factions representing 67 Members of the Knesset (MKs) formally recommended Eisenkot to lead the 38th government, surpassing the 61-seat threshold required for a working majority. "At the conclusion of the round of consultations, factions comprising 67 Knesset members recommended to the president of the State of Israel that the chairman of the Yashar party, Gadi Eisenkot, be tasked with forming the government. Factions comprising 46 Knesset members recommended Prime Minister and Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu, and a faction comprising seven Knesset members chose not to recommend anyone," the statement continued.

Furthermore, "The president of the State of Israel has invited Gadi Eisenkot to the President's Residence for the mandate-conferral ceremony, which will take place tomorrow, Sunday, 28 Cheshvan, November 8, at 17:00," the release added.

Who Gave Eisenkot His Majority

Gadi Eisenkot's endorsements, with 67 seats, comprised the Jewish-led opposition bloc. The bloc has 48 seats, which included Yashar, Together, The Democrats, Yisrael Beiteinu, the Ra'am party with 8 seats, and the Joint List, having 11 seats. The 67-seat backing for Eisenkot came together after the Arab-led Joint List announced the unanimous decision to recommend him, joining earlier endorsements from the opposition and the Arab Ra'am party.

Benjamin Netanyahu's endorsements, with 46 seats, are down from his right-wing bloc's total election tally of 53 seats after UTJ withheld the endorsement with abstentions having 7 seats.

The decision by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party to refrain from endorsing any candidate was a major fracture in the long-standing alliance with Netanyahu. Israel's President Herzog has chosen Gadi Eisenkot, a rival of current Prime Minister Netanyahu, to form a new government, following last month's elections, Al Jazeera also reported.

An Emergency Government Promise

"This is the time to establish a national emergency government. I will do anything possible to prove us worthy," Eisenkot posted on his X account just after the presidential announcement. Eisenkot, a retired military chief who spearheaded the centrist Yashar bloc during the parliamentary polls, will now have a statutory window of up to 6 weeks to negotiate with prospective allies and stitch together a viable majority capable of formally replacing Netanyahu in the prime minister's office.

He has up to 6 weeks to form a coalition, a challenging task in a deeply divided country reeling from the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and the 3 years of wars that have followed in Gaza and beyond. Rejecting Netanyahu's continued stay as a caretaker leader during wartime, Eisenkot outlined a 4-pillar framework for an emergency administration. The framework included recognising Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, upholding the Declaration of Independence, mandating universal national and military conscription, and dismantling the military and political wings of Hamas.

Once formally conferred the mandate, Eisenkot will have a designated window to finalise coalition agreements and secure parliamentary approval to swear in a new government.

Fraught Path To Majority

In discussions with the president this week, representatives from most of Israel's main parties recommended Eisenkot be tasked with assembling a new government. However, putting together the parliamentary majority needed remains fraught and any possible coalition would require candidates to make tough compromises that could outrage their own voters.

Netanyahu and his allies lost their majority in parliament in last month's elections, although the bloc led by Eisenkot also didn't win a majority. The left Arab-led parties, which made historic gains, are possibly but politically fraught kingmakers.

An Arab party has been part of a governing coalition just once in Israel's history and forming such an alliance could be especially divisive for Eisenkot after over 3 years of war in Gaza.

Netanyahu Fights Back

Netanyahu has been on a campaign to head off any alliance between Eisenkot and the Arab-led parties, including unsubstantiated claims that Arab parties "stole" the elections. Shortly before Herzog's announcement, he called for a "national unity government" in a video statement and warned against "hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters", language he uses to refer to the Arab-led parties.

Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly portrayed the Arab-led parties as a threat to national security, while Eisenkot has indicated a willingness to partner with them under certain conditions, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed.

Eisenkot and Netanyahu, whose Likud is the single largest party in parliament, could seek to create a broad unity government with major Jewish parties. However, the men have big differences over many issues that will be difficult to bridge. The differences include Netanyahu's reliance on religious parties that demand draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, as well as Netanyahu's opposition to a formal investigation into the security failures surrounding the October 7 attacks.

Eisenkot could also seek to create a "minority" government, shored up by external support from Arab parties that are not formal members of his coalition. However, other members of his bloc have said that they would reject such an alliance.