Israel: Herzog gives Eisenkot the first mandate to form a government – Netanyahu’s reaction

Gadi Eisenkot will be the first to receive the mandate to form a government in Israel. President Isaac Herzog announced on the evening of Saturday, November 7 that he has invited the leader of the Yashar party to the presidential residence to formally assign him the mandate on Sunday, November 8. The decision was announced after Herzog’s meetings with Eisenkot and with caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The choice is a blow to Netanyahu. In the week’s consultations with the President, representatives of most of the large parties recommended the former chief of the General Staff, among them the two Arab parties, which openly backed Eisenkot. The announcement had been expected on Sunday, but came earlier.

What came before from Netanyahu

Shortly before Herzog’s decision, Netanyahu asked in a video message for a “national unity government” and warned against swearing in “hastily a government with supporters of terrorism.” The phrase was seen as a dig at the Arab parties backing his rival. Yashar answered with a post on X and urged Likud officials to distance themselves from the alliance with “extremist parties.”

Netanyahu has also accused certain Arab countries, without evidence, of interfering in the elections. The acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livne, wrote in a letter on Thursday that claims of systematic violation of election integrity have no basis.

The numbers in the Knesset

In the October 27 elections no bloc won a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu’s coalition stayed at 53 seats, eight short of the 61 needed for a majority, with Likud the first party on 27. The four Jewish parties of Eisenkot’s bloc, from the centre-left to the right, gathered 48 seats, with Yashar second on 21. The Arab parties won 19 seats, an unprecedented number, and hold the key to any majority.

Eisenkot has said he will not join a government with Netanyahu. He has left open cooperation with the Arab parties under conditions, among them that they describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must be dismantled. Most of the Jewish opposition parties had pledged before the vote not to rely on Arab votes. The 66-year-old politician, the son of immigrants from Morocco, entered politics in 2022 and briefly served in Netanyahu’s war cabinet. If he succeeds, he would be Israel’s first prime minister of Mizrahi descent.

From the assignment onward, Eisenkot will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of 14 days. If he fails, another candidate may receive the mandate and then the Knesset itself may propose a person, while if nobody succeeds Israelis will vote again. Until then Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister. We reported on how Eisenkot’s bloc coordinates at its first meeting.