Overview
- President Isaac Herzog handed Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to try to form a government on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, after lawmakers representing 67 Knesset seats recommended him.
- Eisenkot’s four-party bloc holds 48 seats and must win support from other groups to reach the 61-seat majority needed to govern.
- Three main routes are under discussion: a minority government backed from outside by the two Arab-led lists that together hold 19 seats, adding the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and UTJ (13 seats) to reach a bare 61-seat majority, or a broad unity deal with Likud.
- Each path faces clear red lines: Eisenkot campaigned for equal military and civilian service for all, Netanyahu has ruled out depending on Arab parties, and figures like Avigdor Lieberman oppose an Arab-dependent government.
- If Eisenkot fails, Basic Law gives a second candidate 28 days and then a possible third-candidate or Knesset-triggered dissolution with new elections to be held within 90 days, while Netanyahu’s cabinet stays on in a caretaker role.