Eisenkot gets Israel's government mandate as Netanyahu pushes unity deal

A 28-day mandate

President Isaac Herzog gave Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the centrist Yashar party, the task of forming the next government on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Eisenkot has 28 days to build a coalition, and the president can extend that period by 14 days. Consultations ended with 67 of the Knesset's 120 members recommending Eisenkot, while 46 backed the outgoing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and seven recommended no candidate. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu won a clear majority in the 27 October election. Adnkronos noted that a mandate of this kind had never before gone to a Mizrahi Jew, and that Eisenkot, 66, comes from a family of working-class Moroccan Jewish immigrants.

At the ceremony, Eisenkot described the country's position in stark terms.

We are in a state of emergency, approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel.

He said a national emergency government would require creative and unconventional political steps, and that Israeli democracy had reached a vulnerable moment.

Netanyahu renews the unity pitch

In a video released on 9 November, Netanyahu argued that Likud, which he said finished first in the 27 October vote, should lead any government. He called a unity government a vital need for Israel and said that nobody should rule anyone out. Europa Press reported that he took for granted that his current coalition partners, the Religious Zionism party, Jewish Power and the ultra-Orthodox parties, would sit in the government. He also ruled out any coalition that depended on what he called Hamas sympathisers, arguing that such a government could not fight Iran or radical Islam.

The arithmetic and the Arab parties

According to BFMTV, the opposition bloc holds 48 seats, against 53 for the outgoing coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. The Arab parties Raam and the Joint List won a record 19 seats, which could make them kingmakers. Both offered to back an Eisenkot government with their 19 members without formally joining the cabinet. Eisenkot has said several times that he was not seeking their support, though he has not ruled out a minority government that relies on their tolerance. The Independent reported that his conditions for Arab parties joining a coalition include recognising Israel as a Jewish state and declaring Hamas a terrorist organisation.

Lieberman and the ultra-Orthodox option

Eisenkot met Avigdor Lieberman on 9 November. Yashar said the two expressed confidence in their ability to form a stable government for a four-year term, but the statement did not describe a breakthrough. Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party, with seven seats, has said it will not join a coalition with Arab-led parties. Haaretz, as cited by Adnkronos, reported that Lieberman has floated an alliance with the ultra-Orthodox parties and even a government with himself as prime minister, though he has not said so publicly. According to the same report, he told associates he would vote against a minority government that depended on Arab party support and bring it down. Courrier International reported that he has said he is ready to make painful compromises on ultra-Orthodox military conscription.

Timeline and what comes next

The Judaism of the Torah party, which holds seven seats, announced last week that it would not back Netanyahu's Likud, but it has not endorsed Eisenkot either. If Eisenkot cannot form a coalition, another candidate could be named, and if that fails, new elections could follow next year, according to La Libre.