Gadi Eisenkot, Israel's former military chief and leader of the Yashar party, formally received a mandate from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday to assemble a government, according to The Guardian. The 66-year-old opposition figure now has 28 days to secure the 61 parliamentary seats required, despite his bloc holding only 48 of the Knesset's 120 seats following October's elections.
Speaking at the presidential office, Eisenkot warned that Israel faces an emergency, saying the country is nearing a threshold from which recovery would be impossible. He called for a national emergency government and said assembling one would demand inventive and non-traditional political maneuvers. The Guardian reports that Eisenkot, who typically dresses in black, wore a suit and tie for the ceremony.
Why it matters
The mandate hands Eisenkot an opportunity to end Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure, but the arithmetic leaves him without a straightforward route to power. Netanyahu's camp controls 53 seats, and neither side commands a majority. The outcome will shape Israel's domestic direction at a moment when the country faces mounting international pressure, a diplomatic crisis described by Eisenkot himself, and deep internal divisions.
Eisenkot framed the stakes in stark terms, telling those gathered that even Israel's closest friends and strategic partners are now saying their relationship with the country needs to be reconsidered. The Guardian notes that both Eisenkot and Herzog acknowledged Israel's growing isolation under Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Three paths, each with obstacles
Eisenkot faces what The Guardian describes as three distinct options for building a coalition, and each carries significant complications.
The first would be a power-sharing arrangement with Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu called on Saturday night for a national unity government with Eisenkot, though it remains uncertain whether the two rivals could reach agreement on how to divide authority. The Guardian notes that such coalition governments are notoriously fragile and frequently collapse. Eisenkot has said he would welcome members of Netanyahu's Likud party and the far-right party of finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, but only in a government he leads himself.
"I appeal to anyone who grasps the seriousness of this hour," Eisenkot said, describing his door as open and his hand extended. The Guardian reports he made the offer wholeheartedly and willingly.
The second option involves support from Arab-led parties, which endorsed Eisenkot during consultations with Herzog and could now play a decisive role after making unprecedented gains in the vote. However, The Guardian reports that several members of Eisenkot's own bloc oppose such an arrangement. Yisrael Beiteinu, a more conservative partner in his alliance, has already stated it will not sit in a coalition with Arab-led parties.
Eisenkot has set conditions for any Arab party seeking to join: recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and a declaration that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. He opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and has pledged to end Hamas's rule in Gaza and dismantle the group's military wing.
The third route runs through the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are demanding military exemptions for their community. That demand collides directly with a central plank of Eisenkot's campaign. The Guardian reports that Eisenkot and his partners made equal military service a centrepiece of their platform, specifically seeking to end the longstanding draft exemptions the ultra-Orthodox have enjoyed.
A campaign built on service and polarisation
Eisenkot, who commanded the military during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, has positioned himself as a figure capable of bridging the polarisation that deepened under Netanyahu. During that conflict he devised what became known as the Dahiya doctrine, named after a Beirut suburb heavily damaged in the fighting. The approach involves Israel committing to overwhelming force against civilian infrastructure in areas controlled by Hezbollah.
He has also vowed to pursue extremist West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinians, describing recent incidents as Jewish terror enabled by Netanyahu's government, according to The Guardian.
The election results themselves remain contested by Netanyahu, who has repeatedly asserted that Arab parties stole the vote by mobilising supporters in large numbers. The Guardian reports he has offered little to no evidence for the claim. Israel's Shin Bet security agency has opened an investigation into possible foreign interference, but the Central Elections Committee and Herzog have both said the vote was valid and that any wrongdoing would not have significantly altered the outcome.
Netanyahu is expected to keep pressing Eisenkot, arguing that any alliance with Arab parties would amount to betrayal.
The arithmetic ahead
Eisenkot must reach 61 endorsements within his 28-day window. If he falls short, Herzog can grant a 14-day extension before offering the mandate to another candidate. Should neither side manage to assemble a majority, Israel would return to the polls. The country held five elections between 2019 and 2022 because of repeated deadlocks, a history that hangs over the current round of negotiations.
The Guardian reports that Eisenkot described the moment as requiring creative and unconventional political steps. Whether his bloc, his rivals, or the Arab-led parties can supply the votes for such a government is the question that will define the coming weeks.
