Overview
- President Isaac Herzog formally tasked former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government and gave him an initial 28‑day mandate to assemble a coalition.
- Eisenkot has the backing of a diverse 67‑seat bloc on paper, but 19 seats held by the two Arab parties are pivotal and would likely provide outside parliamentary support rather than full cabinet membership.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his Knesset speech to call for a unity government while sharply attacking Arab lawmakers, prompting walkouts, public confrontations and the cancellation of a planned Likud‑Yashar negotiating meeting.
- Eisenkot publicly urged Netanyahu to show restraint on immediate security operations and warned against using military action for political gain, a charge Netanyahu’s office rejected as politicizing security decisions.
- If Eisenkot fails to form a coalition he can seek a 14‑day extension, after which the mandate could pass to another candidate and, if no government is formed, the country may face new elections; key bargaining points will include conscription for ultra‑Orthodox men, a state inquiry into the October 7 failures, and control of the Knesset agenda.