Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is seeking to remain in office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its parliamentary majority in the October 27 election, despite emerging as the largest political bloc.
Eisenkot, a former military chief, has ruled out forming an alliance with Arab parties. However, Arab political leaders nominated him to lead the government formation process, giving him the highest number of endorsements.
The leaders oppose Netanyahu and his far-right allies over policies they consider discriminatory towards Arab citizens and Palestinians.
“President Herzog has invited Gadi Eisenkot to the President’s Residence, where he will be tasked with forming the government tomorrow,” a spokesperson for the president said.
In a post on X, Eisenkot said the country needed a national emergency government and pledged to make every effort to form one.
Eisenkot faces difficult coalition negotiations
Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension. The nomination is expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations as he explores possible coalition arrangements.
One option would be to form a minority government with support from Arab parties on key parliamentary votes. He could also seek an agreement with ultra-Orthodox parties or consider a unity government with Netanyahu, despite previously ruling out serving under him.
However, analysts consider all three options difficult to achieve.
If Eisenkot fails, another candidate may be given the opportunity to form a government. If that attempt also fails, parliament can nominate a further candidate. The process has a deadline of around 100 days, after which another election would be held if no government is formed.
Netanyahu’s Likud party won 27 seats in the 120-member Knesset, but his wider religious-nationalist coalition secured only 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party won 21 seats, making it the second-largest party. His broader coalition, comprising four Jewish-led parties ranging from the centre-left to the right, secured 48 seats. Two parties representing Israel’s Arab minority won a combined 19 seats.
Eisenkot’s criticism of Netanyahu and settler violence
Eisenkot, 66, is the son of Moroccan immigrants. If elected prime minister, he would become Israel’s first leader from the Mizrahi Jewish community, whose members trace their ancestry to the Middle East and North Africa.
A former military chief who entered politics in 2022, Eisenkot briefly served in Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He later returned to the opposition.
Since then, he has repeatedly criticised Netanyahu’s leadership, particularly his handling of the military campaign in Gaza. He has also pledged not to join a government led by the prime minister.
Eisenkot’s family has also suffered personal losses during the war, with his son and two nephews killed while fighting in Gaza.
During his election campaign, he highlighted his military experience and referred to his “Dahiyeh doctrine”, which involves responding to attacks with overwhelming force. He applied the approach as a military commander during Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Eisenkot has also criticised violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, which has increased since 2023 and contributed to tensions between Israel and Western countries.
He opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Both have faced sanctions from some Western governments over their statements and actions concerning Palestinians.
