Israeli President Isaac Herzog decided on Saturday to appoint Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest rival, to form a new government, following elections that did not give either of them a clear path to power. Meanwhile, Gadi Eiscot confirmed that he will do everything in his power to form a new government in Israel, soon after President Isaac Herzog announced his nomination to take over the position of Prime Minister.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 20:50 Last updated: 07/11/2026 - 23:08

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Saturday appointed Gadi Eisenkot, head of the opposition bloc that achieved an advantage in the legislative elections last October, to form a new government, following elections that did not show a clear superiority for any of the competing parties.

A statement from Herzog's office said, "The President informed the leader of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, of his intention to assign him to form a new government," noting that an official ceremony will be held to this end at the President's residence in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon.

For his part, outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is struggling to retain his position after his national-religious coalition lost its majority in the elections, but he remains the largest bloc in Parliament.

An anti-Netanyahu bloc led by Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff, rejected an alliance with Arab parties that might give it a majority.

But Arab leaders, angry at the policies of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, nominated Eisenkot during marathon talks with President Herzog.

"National emergency government"

Gadi Eiscot said on Saturday that he will do everything in his power to form a new government in Israel, shortly after President Isaac Herzog announced his nomination to take over the position of Prime Minister to succeed the outgoing Benjamin Netanyahu.

Einscott wrote on the X platform, “Now is the time to form a national emergency government. I will do everything necessary to ensure that we live up to this responsibility,” shortly after Herzog’s office announced that it would officially appoint him on Sunday.

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Protracted negotiations loom

Eisenkot's nomination is likely to be followed by weeks of protracted negotiations. He has 28 days to try to form a government, with the possibility of extending the deadline by 14 days.

Among his possible paths to reaching power are trying to form a minority government with Arab support from abroad, or forming a coalition with the Haredi parties that he and his allies previously rejected, or forming a unity government with Netanyahu.

However, analysts rule out the realization of any of the three options. If Eizenkot fails, another candidate can try to form a government, and if that candidate fails, parliament can nominate another candidate. The period specified for this process is approximately 100 days. If no one succeeds, new elections are held.

It is noteworthy that the Likud party has the largest number of seats among the individual parties, as it won 27 seats in the 120-member Knesset, but the broader national-religious coalition led by Netanyahu only won 53 seats in total, without the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. While the Yashar Party led by Eizenkot came in second place, winning 21 seats, while his coalition, which includes four Jewish parties with leadership extending from the center left to the right, only won 48 seats. Two parties representing the Arab minority in Israel won an unprecedented number of 19 seats.

Condemning settler violence

Eizenkot, who is 66 years old and the son of Moroccan immigrants, will be the country's first prime minister from the Mizrahi community in Israel, who are Jews whose roots go back to the Middle East and North Africa.

Eisenkot criticized settler violence against the Palestinians, which has escalated since 2023 and led to increased tension in Israel's relations with Western countries, and opposes Netanyahu's partners in the far-right coalition, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who were imposed by some Western countries for their incitement to violence against the Palestinians.

Eisenkot, who is conservative and avoids the media, entered politics only in 2022. He briefly held a position in Netanyahu's war government following the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, before returning to the opposition.

"The Suburb Doctrine"

From his position in the opposition, he publicly rebuked Netanyahu for his leadership, including his management of the military campaign in Gaza, and vowed not to serve in a government with him.

It is noteworthy that Eisenkot's position is also linked in public opinion to the personal price that his family has paid since 2023, when his son and two nephews were killed in the fighting in Gaza.

It is noteworthy that during his election campaign, Eisenkot highlighted his security credentials, attributing this to the “Dahiya Doctrine” based on responding to attacks with disproportionate force, which he applied as a commander during Israel’s 2006 war with the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group.

France 24/AFP/Reuters

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