Gadi Eisenkot Tapped to Form Israeli Government Over Netanyahu

President Isaac Herzog has chosen opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to attempt to assemble Israel’s next governing coalition. The decision hands a direct political blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party captured the largest individual share of seats but fell short of securing a governing majority.

Herzog will officially confer the mandate to Eisenkot at 5 p.m. Local time on Sunday. The president reached his decision after a majority of members in the 120-seat parliament formally backed Eisenkot for the task.

While Likud secured 27 seats in last month’s election, Eisenkot’s center-right Yashar party won 21 seats. Because neither leader achieved an immediate path to a majority, building a coalition will require assembling at least 61 seats.

Eisenkot now has 28 days to forge a deal among competing political factions. Under Israeli law, Herzog can grant a 14-day extension, providing Eisenkot up to six weeks of bargaining time.

A Decorated General Turned Political Opponent

Eisenkot served as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019. Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, the military veteran joined Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet. He later resigned from the emergency government, accusing Netanyahu of failing to advance progress toward securing hostage releases or ending the Gaza conflict.

The war caused severe personal tragedy for Eisenkot. His son, Gal, a military reservist, was killed during combat operations in Gaza, as were two of his nephews.

Following his military tenure, Eisenkot launched Yashar—meaning “Straight”—on a platform centered on government reform and anti-corruption measures.

Coalition Challenges and Political Friction

Assembling a 61-seat majority poses severe logistical hurdles. A viable coalition might require aligning ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties alongside Arab-led parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Arab citizens make up approximately 20% of the country’s population and logged record turnout in the recent election. Though both Eisenkot and Netanyahu pledged before the vote not to partner with Arab-led factions, public pressure has grown on Eisenkot to reconsider.

Netanyahu released a video on Saturday warning Eisenkot against partnering with Arab parties, claiming such a move would amount to teaming up with Hamas supporters and “those who oppose Judaism.” Eisenkot rejected the attack, describing Netanyahu’s video message as hysterical.

If Eisenkot fails to build a working government within his allotted timeframe, Herzog can assign the mandate to another member of parliament. Should subsequent efforts also collapse, Israel will head to another general election, with Netanyahu remaining as caretaker prime minister throughout the process.