Overview
- President Isaac Herzog handed Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government after consultations in which lawmakers representing 67 Knesset seats recommended him.
- Eisenkot’s four‑party bloc holds 48 seats while Benjamin Netanyahu’s wider religious‑nationalist bloc has 53, a Knesset majority requires 61 and Arab‑led lists together hold 19 seats.
- Eisenkot is pursuing three main paths: a minority government backed from outside by the two Arab lists, a narrow 61‑seat deal with ultra‑Orthodox parties, or a broad unity arrangement with Likud, and each option faces sharp political and policy barriers.
- A key sticking point is Haredi military‑service exemptions because Eisenkot campaigned for universal service while Shas and UTJ demand continued exemptions, and some partners such as Avigdor Lieberman oppose reliance on Arab party support.
- If Eisenkot fails he has 28 days (extendable by 14) to try, the president can then give the task to another lawmaker and repeated failure would trigger new elections, a prospect that raises immediate security and diplomatic concerns given regional threats and recent shifts in US politics.