Eisenkot gets first opportunity to build Israel’s next governing coalition

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday evening, Nov. 8, gave opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to assemble the country’s next government. The decision advanced the former military chief’s effort to replace Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, but left difficult coalition negotiations ahead. Neither politician’s bloc secured a clear parliamentary majority in the Oct. 27 election.

Herzog said consultations with political parties showed that a majority of Knesset members favored assigning Eisenkot the task. At the ceremony in Jerusalem, the president appealed for leadership that could unite a country divided politically and scarred by the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the wars that followed. Eisenkot pledged trustworthy leadership serving the public and representing every part of society.

Eisenkot has 28 days to negotiate a coalition, with Herzog able to grant another two weeks. If he fails, Netanyahu could receive an opportunity to form a government. Failure by Netanyahu would send Israel back to elections early next spring. New Knesset members are scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday evening, while Netanyahu and his cabinet retain limited authority as a caretaker government.

Arab-led parties could be decisive after historic electoral gains driven by high turnout among Arab citizens. Ra’am, which in 2021 became the only Arab party ever to enter a governing coalition, has pledged support for Eisenkot, but lacks enough seats to deliver a majority. The Joint List has offered an unprecedented arrangement to support him from outside the coalition to remove Netanyahu.

Such cooperation presents obstacles on both sides. The Joint List would be supporting a government unlikely to halt Israel’s wars or restrain settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Eisenkot’s opposition allies would be cooperating with parties that reject Israel’s identity as a Jewish state. His conservative partner Yisrael Beytenu has already ruled out joining a coalition with Arab-led parties.

Eisenkot requires prospective partners to recognize Israel as Jewish and democratic, accept its declaration of independence, endorse military, national or civil service for all citizens, and designate Hamas a terrorist group. Whether potential Arab partners will accept those terms remains uncertain. Netanyahu has meanwhile made unsupported allegations that Arab parties stole the election and characterized cooperation with them as betrayal. Shin Bet is investigating possible foreign interference, but Herzog and the Central Elections Committee maintain that the vote was valid and any wrongdoing did not significantly affect the outcome.

Other routes involve sharing power with Netanyahu or reaching an agreement with ultra-Orthodox parties. The latter seek to preserve military exemptions for their community, putting them at odds with Eisenkot and his partners, who campaigned to end longstanding draft exemptions. Religious parties regard the exemptions as essential to their way of life, although public controversy has intensified during three years of war. United Torah Judaism has left open the possibility of cooperating with Eisenkot.

The next government would also inherit unresolved conflicts. Despite fragile ceasefires, Israeli forces continue fighting Hamas in Gaza and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war Israel launched with the United States against Iran also remains unresolved. Herzog and Eisenkot addressed those challenges Sunday, along with U.S. midterm election results that suggested declining support for Israel across both parties.

Speaking to reporters Sunday night in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. President Donald Trump described Netanyahu and Eisenkot as similar in their policies and outlook. Herzog urged Eisenkot to draw on his military leadership and personal loss, including the death of his son in combat in Gaza, to help bring Israelis together.