Jerusalem (AFP) - After being assigned to form a government in Israel, Gadi Eisenkot has 28 days to expand the base of his coalition so that he can form a coalition that will receive a majority vote in Parliament, without causing the collapse of his already divided team.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 14:19

Eisenkot will try to achieve this through three solutions, each of which faces a number of difficulties.

Formation of a minority government

During the past few days, Eisenkot confirmed his desire to form a "national emergency government" with the aim of replacing Benjamin Netanyahu's government as soon as possible, as he considers its presence a threat to Israel.

The leader of the opposition bloc did not reveal the mechanism for implementing his plan, but his recent statements indicated a strategy that will be implemented in two stages. The first is to form a government based on the limited parliamentary base of the opposition and be formed quickly, while the second is based on working to expand the scope of this government.

Eisenkot said on Friday, "I intend to invite all parliamentary blocs and their members to join us under my leadership... whether that is now or later."

The Change Bloc, led by Eisenkot, won 48 seats in the legislative elections, while Netanyahu's right-wing bloc won 53 seats. Neither of them has the majority necessary to form the government, which is 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Both the Joint Arab List, which has 11 seats, and the United Arab List, which won 8 seats in the October 27 elections, offered to support Eisenkot without officially joining the government.

Journalist and political analyst Amit Segal says that Eisenkot's plan is based on "annexing the seats of the Arab parties to the seats of the Change Bloc."

He explains that bypassing Netanyahu's bloc will be possible if the United Arab List "Ra'em" votes in favor of Eisenkot, in exchange for the Joint List abstaining from a vote of no confidence in his government.

- Alliance with Haredi parties -

During the election campaigns, the opposition bloc emphasized the issue of ending the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service.

According to a long-standing arrangement, ultra-Orthodox Jews are allowed not to join the army, in order to devote themselves to studying the Torah in religious institutes.

This exemption has always dissatisfied a wide segment of Israelis, especially with reserve soldiers forced to carry out multiple rounds of fighting on the Gaza, Lebanon and Iranian fronts over the past years.

In a surprising development, after describing them as “anti-Jewish,” former Defense, Foreign and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the “Israel Our Home” party, opened the door to an alliance with this segment as long as there was a chance to overthrow Netanyahu, and avoid entering into an alliance with the Arab parties in Israel.

The two Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, which supported Netanyahu, have 13 parliamentary seats, and these seats could help Eisenkot reach the majority required to form the government, if the two parties obtain guarantees by passing a law enshrining the exemption of yeshiva students from military service.

Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democratic Party and a supporter of a partnership with Arab parties, commented sarcastically that Lieberman should form a government directly with Netanyahu if he does not want to impose compulsory conscription on the Haredim, and does not want to cancel the broad and controversial judicial reforms approved by the former prime minister.

National unity government

Both Eisenkot and Netanyahu proposed the idea of ​​forming a national unity government, but both stipulated that he be the one to head it.

Eisenkot publicly stated that Netanyahu poses a danger and is not qualified to lead Israel, basing this on his failure to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the deep divisions it caused within Israeli society, in addition to the corruption issues he faces, which may lead to his imprisonment if he loses power.

On the other hand, Netanyahu has not shown any interest in assuming a ministerial position under Eisenkot's leadership, and his remaining outside the prime minister's office may deprive him of the immunity he enjoys as prime minister.

However, if Eisenkot is unable to find an alternative, forming a national unity government may become one of the options to avoid holding new elections, in light of some observers’ expectations that the opposition’s performance in those elections may be weaker as a result of declining popular enthusiasm for it.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the formation of a national unity government, with the aim of reducing the state of polarization that the country is witnessing.

Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five elections due to successive political crises and the inability to muster a stable majority, until Netanyahu was able to form a government in alliance with the far-right parties.

In 2020, Netanyahu formed a national unity government with former army commander Benny Gantz from the centrist movement.

But this agreement did not last long, and soon collapsed, leading to new elections, while Gantz today has become a political figure with limited influence.

If he is unable to form a government until December 6, the deadline can be extended for two weeks. In the event of failure, the head of state chooses another person to try to form the government.

© 2026 AFP

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