Eisenkot tasked with forming new government
The former defense chief has 28 days to build a coalition after President Herzog handed him the mandate on Sunday.
By Amir Navarro ·
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, received the formal mandate to form Israel's next government on Sunday. President Isaac Herzog handed the task to Eisenkot during a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. This move follows a week of consultations with representatives from all parties entering the new Knesset.
Eisenkot now has a 28-day window to assemble a working coalition. If he requires more time, Herzog can grant an extension of up to 14 additional days. During the consultation process, Eisenkot received 67 recommendations from party leaders. By comparison, outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received 46 recommendations.
The election results created a fragmented parliament where no single bloc holds a majority of 61 seats. Netanyahu's camp controls 53 seats, while the opposition bloc holds 48. The Arab parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, won a combined 19 seats, a record high for these groups. Although both Arab parties recommended Eisenkot, their support does not guarantee they will join his cabinet.
Eisenkot addressed the political factions and elected officials during the handover ceremony. "After the difficult years we have endured, we must do things differently this time," he said. "The days when Israelis felt excluded by their own government must come to an end and never return." He urged parties to take a courageous step for the state and warned that those who sabotage the process for personal reasons would be remembered negatively by history.
Netanyahu's coalition partners include Likud, Otzma Yehudit, the Religious Zionist Party, Zehut, and Shas. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party declined to recommend a candidate. This party, a long-time ally of Netanyahu, cited tensions with the prime minister. Opposition leaders have signaled openness to including ultra-Orthodox parties in their coalition and have begun negotiations with them.
Israeli law dictates that if Eisenkot fails to form a government within the allotted time, he must inform Herzog. The president then has three days to decide whether to assign the task to another lawmaker or declare the attempt a failure. A second candidate would have 28 days to build a coalition, with no possibility of an extension.
If the second attempt fails, a 21-day period opens. During this window, at least 61 members of the Knesset can jointly ask the president to assign the task to a specific lawmaker. That individual would then have 14 days to form a government. If all attempts fail, the Knesset will be dissolved, and new elections will be held. The current government will remain in a caretaker role until a new cabinet wins a confidence vote.
