On a Saturday night in November, Israel's president handed the first opportunity to form a government to Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who has long stood against Benjamin Netanyahu. It is a moment that arrives in a nation still carrying the weight of October 2023 and the years of war that followed, where a fractured electorate has left no bloc with a majority. The question now is less who won the argument than whether a divided country can assemble the trust it needs to govern itself, with six weeks on the clock and the uneasy role of Arab-led parties at the center of the arithmetic.
Herzog Gives Opposition's Eisenkot First Shot at Forming Israeli Government, Dealing Setback to Netanyahu
A recommendation, though, is not a majority.
Mark
Why does Herzog's decision matter so much if Eisenkot still doesn't have a majority?
Mimi
It gives him the first attempt, with up to six weeks. Most of the main parties recommended him this week, so he starts with momentum, even without the seats.
Luke
Momentum isn't votes, though. Neither bloc won a majority, and that's the confirmed part.
Mark
So the Arab-led parties decide it?
Mimi
They're potential kingmakers after historic gains. But an Arab party has been in a coalition only once before, so it's politically fraught.
Luke
And Eisenkot has only indicated willingness under conditions, like calling Hamas a terrorist group to be destroyed. That's not a deal.
Mark
What about Netanyahu's claim that Arab parties stole the election?
Luke
The report calls it unsubstantiated. Nothing in it supports the claim.
Mimi
He also called for a national unity government, but the gaps with Eisenkot are real: draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men and an inquiry into Oct. 7.
Mark
And the minority option?
Luke
Others in Eisenkot's own bloc say they'd reject it, so whether it's viable is unknown.
El Pulso
- Neither Netanyahu's bloc nor Eisenkot's reached a majority, and the old balance of power has dissolved into uncertainty.
- Arab-led parties, which made historic gains, now hold kingmaker status that many in the political mainstream view with alarm.
- Netanyahu is pressing for a national unity government and warning against a coalition with what he calls terrorist supporters.
- Eisenkot's team has set conditions, including a clear Hamas-must-be-destroyed stance, while his own allies resist an outside-support arrangement.
- A six-week deadline now drives every choice between a unity government, a minority government, or a failed attempt.
On a Saturday night in November, Israel's president handed the first opportunity to form a government to Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who has long stood against Benjamin Netanyahu. It is a moment that arrives in a nation still carrying the weight of October 2023 and the years of war that followed, where a fractured electorate has left no bloc with a majority. The question now is less who won the argument than whether a divided country can assemble the trust it needs to govern itself, with six weeks on the clock and the uneasy role of Arab-led parties at the center of the arithmetic.
On Saturday night, President Isaac Herzog announced that Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition leader and former military chief who challenged Benjamin Netanyahu at the ballot box, would be the first to try forming a governing coalition after the October 27 elections. Eisenkot now has up to six weeks to do it, a step closer to ending the tenure of Israel's longest-serving prime minister.
The assignment lands in a country still scarred by the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the years of war in Gaza that followed. The election left no side with a majority. Netanyahu's bloc lost its footing, but Eisenkot's did not gain one either, leaving Arab-led parties, which made historic gains, as potential kingmakers. Such a partnership has happened only once before in Israeli history, and it could strain Eisenkot badly.
Netanyahu has pushed back hard, claiming Arab parties "stole" the vote and calling for a "national unity government" while warning against a government with "terrorist supporters." Eisenkot has said he could work with those parties if they recognize Hamas as a terrorist group that must be destroyed. Each path forward carries obstacles: a unity deal runs into deep disagreements over ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions and an investigation into October 7, while a minority government backed from outside faces resistance from Eisenkot's own bloc.
As the clock runs, Eisenkot's party has urged Likud members to break with what it calls radical parties, and has promised to include only partners who share its principles. Whether he builds a broad coalition, a fragile minority, or runs out of time remains open.
On Saturday night, Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that Gadi Eisenkot, the opposition candidate, would get the first chance to form a governing coalition after the Oct. 27 elections. Eisenkot, a former military chief who ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is now a step closer to unseating the longest-serving premier in Israel's history.
He has up to six weeks to build a coalition. The task comes in a country deeply divided and still reeling from the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the three years of wars in Gaza and beyond that followed. This week, representatives from most of Israel's main parties met with the president and recommended that Eisenkot be given the assignment. A recommendation, though, is not a majority.
The election left neither side with one. Netanyahu and his allies lost their parliamentary majority last month, but the bloc led by Eisenkot did not win one either. That placed Arab-led parties, which made historic gains, in the position of potential kingmakers, a role that carries heavy political risk. An Arab party has joined a governing coalition only once in Israel's history, and a partnership of that kind could be especially divisive for Eisenkot after more than three years of war in Gaza.
Netanyahu has been working to head off any such alliance. He has made unsubstantiated claims that Arab parties "stole" the elections. Shortly before Herzog spoke, he released a video statement calling for a "national unity government" and warning against "hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters," language he uses to describe the Arab-led parties. He and his allies have repeatedly portrayed those parties as a threat to national security.
Eisenkot has signaled he is willing to work with them under certain conditions, including that they call Hamas a terrorist group that must be destroyed.
Several paths are open, and each has obstacles. Eisenkot and Netanyahu, whose Likud remains the single largest party in parliament, could try to assemble a broad unity government with the major Jewish parties. But the two men differ sharply on issues that will be hard to bridge. Netanyahu relies on religious parties that demand draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, and he opposes a formal investigation into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks.
Eisenkot could instead try a minority government, propped up by outside support from Arab parties that would not formally join the coalition. Other members of his own bloc, however, have said they would reject that arrangement.
Eisenkot's party, Yashar, answered Netanyahu's video with a statement on X. It urged Likud members to disavow their alliance with "radical parties," an apparent reference to the far-right parties in Netanyahu's religious-nationalist base. The statement said Eisenkot would include only parties and lawmakers who support its principles.
The six-week clock now frames everything: whether Eisenkot pursues a unity government, a minority government backed from outside by Arab parties, or runs out of time without a majority.
Citas Notables
Netanyahu warned against "hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters," language he uses for Arab-led parties.— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, video statement
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Breitbart News Network ↗
Politics & Governance