Ex-military chief Gadi Eisenkot, opponent of Netanyahu, tapped to form government

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Ex-military chief Gadi Eisenkot, opponent of Netanyahu, tapped to form government

The former military chief has 28 days to build a coalition, with a possible extension of up to 14 more. If he fails, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to get his chance.

November 7, 2026 at 5:18 p.m. ESTYesterday at 5:18 p.m. EST

5 min

*Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot greets supporters in Tel Aviv after exit polls of Israel's general elections on Oct. 28. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)*

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5 min

By Gerry Shih

and

Lior Soroka

JERUSALEM — Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday that he would ask former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to form the country’s next government, a development that put longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the brink of losing power.

Eisenkot will now have 28 days to build a coalition, with a possible two-week extension.

In last month’s election, his Yashar party won 21 parliamentary seats, and his opposition bloc 48 in all, short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Eisenkot was given the initial mandate to form the government after he was recommended to Herzog not only by members of his own opposition bloc, but by two Arab parties that offered to support the centrist retired general’s effort to replace Netanyahu.

Herzog’s announcement appeared to put Netanyahu and his Likud party on the back foot just days after President Donald Trump blamed Israel — and the Iran war advocated by Netanyahu — for the Republican wipeout in the U.S. midterm elections.

Trump, who strongly endorsed Netanyahu for reelection, also cut short a 10-year military aid package to Israel.

For weeks, Netanyahu has told Trump and other foreign leaders that the best outcome from Israel’s election would be to unite Likud and Eisenkot’s bloc under Netanyahu’s continued leadership as prime minister and to then resume offensive operations in the war against Iran.

On Saturday, Eisenkot left open the possibility of a unity coalition with Likud, but only “under Prime Minister Eisenkot.”

“Those who have divided and torn apart Israeli society from within only mention the word ‘unity’ when they realize their time in office is coming to an end,” Eisenkot said in a statement on X. “Unity is an important value for Israel, and Netanyahu has systematically and resolutely worked against it, even during the most difficult war in our history.”

For Eisenkot, the parliamentary math is tricky.

To reach 61 seats, he could bring on the Arab parties — but he has encountered stiff resistance from allies in his bloc, particularly Avigdor Liberman, the hawkish leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, who has ruled out bringing Arabs into the government.

The Arab parties together won a record 19 seats — eight for Raam and 11 for the Joint List.

Eisenkot could also explore forming a minority government with the ultra-Orthodox parties that oppose compulsory military service — but Eisenkot, Liberman and their other allies have made mandatory conscription for all Israelis a key plank of their platform.

Still, Eisenkot got a boost this week after Liberman signaled his openness to a government with support from ultra-Orthodox parties.

“During the round of consultations, factions totaling 67 members of Knesset recommended to President Herzog that Yashar Leader Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming the government,” the president’s office said in a statement. “Factions totaling 46 members of Knesset recommended Prime Minister and Likud Leader Benjamin Netanyahu.”

One faction, United Torah Judaism, which had been part of Netanyahu’s coalition, chose not to recommend anyone — a sign of the prime minister’s increasingly precarious position after dominating Israeli politics for nearly 19 of the past 30 years.

Netanyahu’s supporters have said that one way to pressure Eisenkot into a unity government would be if Israel returned to active war with Iran and declared a state of national emergency.

Netanyahu, who has not been seen in public in Israel for more than a week, made a public pitch Saturday night, insisting that a unity government would be the only way to remove the Iranian nuclear threat.

In a video statement, Netanyahu called for the formation of a broad government “that will include all parties of the national camp and all Zionist parties that wish to protect our country, the one and only state of the Jewish people.”

His appeal marked a public climbdown after Netanyahu campaigned for months vowing to bring a right-wing government back into power.

“This is Netanyahu panicking but also in campaign mode, setting the stage for another election by saying he had always called for unity,” said Eli Kowaz, a fellow at the Economic Cooperation Foundation, an Israeli think tank. “He sees the threat is real, and Eisenkot has a few options.”

Should Eisenkot fail to form a government in the next six weeks, Herzog will likely give Netanyahu, whose right-wing bloc has 53 seats, the next attempt. Israel could go into another election if no leader can corral at least 61 seats.

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