By Amelie Botbol
President Isaac Herzog on Nov. 8 tasked Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel’s next government, following consultations with political parties elected to the 26th Knesset.
Meanwhile, the current government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power.
Whether Eisenkot can form a government depends on whether he sacrifices some of what he called non-negotiable conditions for a government coalition he would head.
Factions totaling 67 Knesset members recommended Eisenkot, including his Yashar party (21), Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad (12), Yousef Jabareen’s Joint List (11), Yair Golan’s The Democrats (8), Mansour Abbas’ Ra’am (8) and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu (7).
A recommendation is not necessarily an agreement to subscribe to Eisenkot’s political principles.
Factions totaling 46 lawmakers recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including Likud (27), National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (7), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist-Zehut (6) and Aryeh Deri’s Shas (6).
Netanyahu’s bloc emerged from the election with 53 seats, compared with 48 for the Eisenkot-led opposition. But Netanyahu could not secure the recommendation of many of the parties that recommended Eisenkot.
Arab parties secured a record-high 19 seats, spilt between the Joint List and Ra’am. Their immediate goal is to put an end to a government headed by Netanyahu
Both of Arab parties, while recommending Eisenkot, were excluded by Eisenkot as potential coalition partners during his campaign.
Under Israel’s Basic Law: The Government, Eisenkot will have 28 days to form a coalition, with Herzog able to grant an extension of up to 14 additional days.
Martin Sherman, executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Eisenkot would be unable to form a government while honoring his campaign pledges.
Eisenkot’s conditions for parties to be included in his government were:
• recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and egalitarian state;
• commitment to the values of the 1948 Declaration of Independence;
• mandatory military, national or civilian service for all Israeli citizens; and
• recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and the obligation to destroy its military and governing power in the Gaza Strip.
“Even if you look at [the more moderate Ra’am leader] Mansour Abbas, the party platform still rejects Israel as a Jewish state and refuses to use its symbols or acknowledge its heritage,” Sherman said.
Further complicating matters, Sherman said, is Avigdor Liberman’s staunch opposition to joining a government reliant on the support of Arab parties.
Sherman believes that such a government would be likely short-lived, given that Arab parties would be unable to support many government decisions, particularly on security matters in Gaza and elsewhere.
However, he believes, an Eisenkot government could remain in power long enough to pass legislation targeting Netanyahu and install an opposition-aligned Knesset speaker.
Eisenkot would also face significant difficulties bringing ultra-Orthodox parties into his coalition because of their central demand for exemptions from military conscription.
Liberman signaled on Nov. 6 that he was prepared to compromise on legislation governing haredi military conscription, creating a mathematical path to a government without Netanyahu or the Arab parties — but this too would undermine Eisenkot’s campaign promise.
Yashar’s 21 seats, B’Yachad’s 12, The Democrats’ eight and Yisrael Beiteinu’s seven, together with the ultra-Orthodox parties 13 seats, would produce exactly 61 seats — the minimum required for a Knesset majority.
United Torah Judaism Chair Yaakov Asher welcomed Liberman’s change of position but stressed that no agreement had been reached.
UTJ did not endorse a candidate for prime minister during Herzog’s consultations and has not expressed support for the proposed six-party coalition.
The other Orthodox party, Shas, recommended Netanyahu to Herzog and has so far remained publicly committed to him.
For his part, Eisenkot reaffirmed his commitment on Nov. 6 to mandatory military service for all, complicating negotiations.
Netanyahu renewed his call for a unity government and warned that a coalition backed by “Islamists” would risk Israel’s survival, referring to the 19 seats won by the Arab parties.
“As early as next week, there are those who intend to hastily swear in a government with supporters of terrorism,” Netanyahu said.
Such a government would “dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is happening in European countries — and much worse.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz also called for unity, warning that the Iranian regime is renewing its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
“Regarding Iran, the mission is still not complete,” Katz said.
When the security of the nation is at stake, he said, “we must know how to rise above our disagreements.
“This is a time of unity, of responsibility and of mutual solidarity.”
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said that Iran makes no distinction between Netanyahu, Eisenkot or Yair Golan in its determination to destroy Israel.
He said a unity government would therefore serve Israel’s interests as it confronts formidable challenges.
“If Eisenkot cobbles together a minority government backed by Arab parties, Trump would not favor such an arrangement in Israel. I believe it would create political and media obstacles and put pressure on Israel,” he added.
Diker said that Israel would have a government reliant on Arab-party support that would oppose Israeli military action against the Islamic Republic.
With Trump facing significant pressure following his party’s midterm election losses, Diker said the US president could not afford to start from scratch with an unfamiliar Israeli leader if he were to launch another military operation.
“Netanyahu has mastered the approach to Trump. From Trump’s point of view, he could act alone. Eisenkot has not been in the room for most of the past two years, when we have undertaken secret and highly complex operations against the regime and its proxies. He has a very steep learning curve.”
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the IDF, joined Netanyahu in a unity government after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, but resigned a few months later.
