In a major blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his rival Gadi Eisenkot has been mandated to form Israel's next government, bringing him closer to ousting the long-serving leader. While Eisenkot secured significant support, his path to assembling a stable coalition is fraught with complex political divisions and strong opposition, including from Netanyahu himself.
Gadi Eisenkot, a retired military chief and leader of the centrist Yashar party, has been officially tasked by President Isaac Herzog with forming the next Israeli government, a direct challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Eisenkot secured the backing of 67 members of the incoming Knesset, including 19 from Arab parties, while Netanyahu received only 46 recommendations, exposing cracks in his traditional support bloc. Eisenkot aims to establish a 'national emergency government' comprising four Jewish opposition parties, totaling 48 seats. His conditions include recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal, and egalitarian state, commitment to the Declaration of Independence, universal service, and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization, the latter effectively precluding Arab parties from Cabinet roles but allowing their external support for a parliamentary majority. However, Eisenkot faces significant hurdles. Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, staunchly opposes any government reliant on Arab parties, fearing it would be short-lived and ultimately strengthen Netanyahu. Liberman proposes an alternative coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism) without Arab support, potentially including Likud defectors, despite the opposition's pledge for universal military service conflicting with ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions. Netanyahu, despite losing his majority, is actively campaigning against any Jewish-Arab political cooperation, challenging election results and warning that an Arab-backed minority government would endanger Israel. He advocates for a national unity government with his bloc. Eisenkot dismissed Netanyahu's calls as 'pathetic spin.' The new Knesset will be sworn in on Tuesday, where the opposition plans to replace Netanyahu's Knesset speaker. Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to negotiate and form a government; failure would pass the mandate to Netanyahu. Eisenkot emphasizes the urgency, framing the situation as a national emergency due to Netanyahu's continued leadership despite losing public trust.
