The leader of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, who is charged with forming the next Israeli government, is facing difficulties that may prevent him from succeeding in completing his mission within the 28-day deadline. Eisenkot is working to build an alliance that will allow him to remove outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in light of both of them lacking the parliamentary majority necessary to form a government, represented by 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. What are the three options available to Eisenkot to make his mission successful?

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 16:31

Gadi Eisenkot, charged with forming the next Israeli government, seeks to expand the base of his alliances so that he can form a coalition that wins a majority vote in Parliament within a period of 28 days, without causing the collapse of his already divided team. The leader of the Yashar Party has three solutions to achieve this, each of which faces a number of difficulties.

Minority government

Eisenkot intends to form a “national emergency government,” he announced, with the aim of replacing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as quickly as possible. While the opposition bloc leader did not reveal the mechanism for implementing his plan, his recent statements indicated a strategy that will be implemented in two stages: The first is to form a government based on the opposition’s limited parliamentary base and be formed quickly. The second is based on working to expand the scope of this government.

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Eisenkot said 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 necessary majority to form a government, which is 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Both the Joint Arab List, which won 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 believes that Eisenkot's plan is based on "annexing the seats of the Arab parties to the seats of the Change Bloc." It is not ruled out that Netanyahu's bloc will be overtaken if the United Arab List "Raam" votes in favor of Eisenkot, while the Joint List abstains from voting on no confidence in his government.

Alliance with the Haredi parties

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.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews are allowed not to join the army, in order to devote themselves to studying the Torah in religious institutes. This is an exemption that has long displeased 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.

Read also Israel: Eizenkot indicates progress in negotiations to form a new government and Lieberman shows flexibility regarding Haredi recruitment

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 is a chance to overthrow Netanyahu, and avoid entering into an alliance with the Arab parties in Israel.

A national unity government bringing together Eisenkot and Likud

Both Eisenkot and Netanyahu propose the idea of ​​forming a national unity government, but both stipulate 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.

Read also: After he was officially assigned to form a government... Eisenkot invites Netanyahu’s party to join it

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.

If Eisenkot is unable to form a government until December 6, the deadline could be extended by two weeks. If he continues to fail to do so, the head of state chooses another person to form the government.

France 24/AFP

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