Retired military chief Gadi Eisenkot has up to six weeks to build an Israeli coalition after winning 67 Knesset recommendations to Benjamin Netanyahu's 46.

Published 8 Nov 2026, 06:41 GMT

3 min read

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Israel's Yashar party — Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog will formally task centrist Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot on Sunday with forming the country's next government following the October 27 general election.

Eisenkot secured the backing of 67 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset, including 19 members from the two Arab parties. Netanyahu received 46 endorsements after a traditional ally, the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, declined to recommend him.

From Sunday, Eisenkot has 28 days, extendable by 14, to agree Cabinet posts, budgets and policies with partners. If he fails to assemble a coalition within six weeks, the mandate passes to Netanyahu for four weeks.

Eisenkot is seeking to swear in what he calls a "national emergency government" as a minority administration made up of four Jewish opposition parties holding 48 seats combined: Yashar, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid's Together, Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yair Golan's left-wing Democrats.

He set four conditions for coalition partners: accepting Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and egalitarian state in line with its Declaration of Independence, enforcing universal military, national or civilian service, and recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation, which effectively leaves the Arab parties supporting from outside the Cabinet.

However, former defence minister Liberman has rejected relying on Arab lawmakers, warning on X on Friday that a short-lived minority administration would allow Netanyahu to return stronger. Liberman instead proposed courting the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties to reach 61 seats, despite opposition pledges to end ultra-Orthodox military draft exemptions and earlier coalition deadlocks in Israel.

Netanyahu, who has challenged the election results without public evidence, warned in a video statement on Saturday that Israel would "simply not survive" under a minority government backed by Arab parties and called for a broad unity coalition of "all Zionist parties" including his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies.

Eisenkot dismissed Netanyahu's appeal as "pathetic spin", while Yashar invited Likud to break with its extremist allies and join an administration led by Eisenkot.

The new Knesset will be sworn in on Tuesday, November 10, when the opposition plans to replace the parliamentary speaker and establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Gadi Eisenkot to receive mandate to form Israel&#39;s next government

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Gadi Eisenkot to receive mandate to form Israel's next government

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