Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot on Friday called on the president to entrust him with the task of forming the next government, reporting "significant progress" in negotiations aimed at overcoming the lack of a majority resulting from the elections.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 19:56

Head of State Isaac Herzog, who received the different political forces this week, must announce on Sunday who will have the difficult mission of forming a government majority in a very fragmented political landscape.

Since the legislative elections of October 27, the main opposition bloc, made up of four parties hostile to outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ranging from the left to the nationalist right, has been engaged in arduous negotiations to agree on the path forward.

Several options have been mentioned publicly or by the Israeli media, including an agreement with Arab groups, an alliance with the ultra-Orthodox, or even a government of national unity with Mr. Netanyahu's party, but without the latter.

“Many meetings took place, some made public, others not (...) We have made important progress and obtained decisive advances,” declared Mr. Eisenkot in a long message published on X.

“I sincerely hope to be entrusted with the mandate” from President Herzog, he added, saying he wanted to form a “national emergency government”.

Mr. Eisenkot did not detail the progress he reported, but his statements came a few hours after one of the pillars of his bloc, the nationalist Avigdor Liberman, said he was open to an alliance with the ultra-Orthodox parties, an option he had previously rejected.

Mr. Liberman, head of the Israel Beitenou party, said he was now ready to make "compromises" on his promise to impose military service on religious students, a measure rejected by ultra-Orthodox groups.

Ultra-orthodox courted

The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats in the elections, while at least 61 deputies are needed to control the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament.

The two main Arab parties, the Joint List and Raam, have proposed adding their 19 deputies to his camp, which would make it possible to constitute a comfortable majority of 67 seats.

But Mr. Liberman, whose party is the smallest member of the opposition bloc with seven seats, reiterated Friday that he "firmly" refused any pact with the Arab parties, even within the framework of a minority government that the latter would indirectly support in the Knesset.

In a context of worsened social divisions since October 7, its right-wing voters would indeed have difficulty accepting such an alliance with the parties which represent Israeli Arabs, also called Palestinians of Israel, who represent 20% of the population.

From then on, the two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shass (Sephardic) and United Torah Judaism (Ashkenazi), appeared as the new partners to be conquered.

They together have 13 seats, which would allow the opposition to obtain a narrow majority in Parliament.

These groups were allied to Mr. Netanyahu's government coalition, but now criticize him for having failed to enshrine into law the exemption from military service for religious students.

Ultra-Orthodox men are required to serve in the army, like the rest of the population. In fact, many of them ignore the army summons when they receive it, a situation generally tolerated under Mr. Netanyahu's outgoing government.

Despite everything, arrests aroused the anger of religious parties.

The question of exemption from military service for the ultra-Orthodox, while conscripts and reservists have been deployed on several fronts since October 7, fuels deep resentment among the rest of the population.

After Mr. Liberman's statements, Yaakov Asher, a member of the United Torah Judaism party, praised the "flexibility of political actors on the question of conscription" and indicated that any formal proposal for an alliance would first be submitted to rabbinical authorities.

Cautious, Mr. Eisenkot did not confirm on Friday the suggestion of an alliance with the ultra-Orthodox, nor ruled out the hypothesis of cooperation with Arab parties.

© 2026 AFP

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