Update: Herzog Taps Eisenkot to Form Israel's Government as Netanyahu Calls for Unity
The Yashar leader receives the mandate Sunday in Jerusalem and gets 28 days to build a coalition; the math depends on the ultra-Orthodox parties and the army draft.
Learn more ›JERUSALEM —
Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday evening, Nov. 7, that he will task Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel's next government, the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post reported. Eisenkot is to formally receive the mandate at a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Learn more ›Herzog told both Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his decision earlier in the evening, according to the Times of Israel. Eisenkot was recommended by 67 members of the 120-seat Knesset after the Oct. 27 election, and Netanyahu by 46. United Torah Judaism, with seven seats, recommended no one.
Under Israel's Basic Law: The Government, Eisenkot has 28 days to put a coalition together, and Herzog may add up to 14 more days if needed, the Jerusalem Post reported. If he fails, Netanyahu could be given the next chance. If every attempt fails, the Knesset is dissolved and Israel goes to another election; the current government stays on as a caretaker until a new one takes office.
Learn more ›Eisenkot wrote on X that “now is the time for the formation of a national emergency government” and added, “I will do everything to make us worthy.” His party says partners must accept four principles, including recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and mandatory military, national or civil service for all.
In a video statement Saturday evening, Netanyahu called for “a government of national unity which will include all the parties of the national camp,” the Times of Israel reported. He warned against a government that depends on the Arab parties, saying, “With a government like that, Israel simply won't survive.” The Times of Israel said his proposal, which would keep his former coalition partners, is a likely non-starter for Eisenkot, who will not partner with Netanyahu.
See where this is ›The numbers are tight. The Times of Israel reported that Eisenkot's bloc holds 48 seats; adding United Torah Judaism's seven and Shas's six would give a razor-thin 61. A Shas-linked source told Channel 12 the party would not vote against an Eisenkot government if UTJ's leader approved, but Shas called those reports “total fake news” and said it is “part of the right-wing bloc.”
Any such deal would turn on the draft of yeshiva students into the army. Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said Friday he would accept “painful compromises” on Haredi enlistment, while The Democrats' Yair Golan said he is open to a government with the Haredim but opposes “a blank check.”
What we don't know yet: Whether Eisenkot can win over United Torah Judaism and Shas without the Arab parties, what a compromise on the draft law would look like, and whether he will need Herzog's 14-day extension.
