Netanyahu fights to stay in power as rivals line up behind Eisenkot

TEL AVIV, Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power in Israel will be tested Wednesday as President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with the leaders of all parties elected to the 26th Knesset before deciding which lawmaker will be tasked with forming the next government.

The final vote tally, released last Friday by Israel’s Central Election Commission, gives Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared to 48 for the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot – 61 seats are needed to form a government.

On Monday, Netanyahu said on X that “the Israeli public does not want a government that depends on Ra’am and the Joint List – parties that support terrorism and reject the existence of the Jewish state.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the audience during a conference in Jerusalem, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

“A clear majority of the Jewish public chose Likud as the largest party and me as prime minister to lead the next government. We aspire to form a broad government with our partners and with any party that wishes to do so and does not support terrorism. I am open to discussions on the issue,” he added.

The two Arab-majority parties he criticized are the Joint List and Ra’am, which won a historic total of 19 seats, potentially positioning them as kingmakers in the government formation process.

A Joint List source told Fox News Digital that the alliance would likely support Eisenkot as the top lawmaker tasked with forming a government. If both Arab-majority parties supported him, he would receive endorsements from parties representing more than the 61 seats needed.

The lawmaker tasked with forming a government will have 28 days to do so, with the president authorized to grant an extension of up to 14 more days.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog during an interview with Fox News Digital in Jerusalem, Israel. (Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL for Fox News Digital)

The consultations will be held in ascending order of number of seats, starting with Religious Zionism-Zehut and Shas, which each won six seats, followed by Yisrael Beiteinu, which won seven.

On Thursday, Herzog will meet with the leaders of United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit, which each won seven seats, followed by the Democrats and Ra’am, who won eight each, the Joint List (11), BeYachad (12), Yashar (21) and Likud (27).

Defense and government affairs commentator Amir Oren told Fox News Digital that while Herzog is formally free to choose who to entrust with government formation, he would be inclined to select the candidate whose nomination is supported by the parties representing the majority of seats in the Knesset.

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“He must then task Eisenkot with forming the next government. This does not mean that Eisenkot will succeed. If he fails, he will have to return the mandate to the president,” Oren said.

Eisenkot may, in fact, struggle to put together a 61-seat governing coalition, given the divergent interests within the opposition bloc. BeYachad leader Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman are unlikely to agree to serve in a government dependent on the Joint List, given the latter’s pro-Palestinian positions and opposition to Zionism.

It is, however, theoretically possible that the opposition bloc will agree to form a minority government with the support of Arab parties outside the coalition.

Although Israel has no precedent for forming a minority government immediately after an election, such arrangements have occurred during one term in the Knesset. More recently, during Netanyahu’s current term, one of the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from the coalition due to a dispute over military conscription, but continued to support the government from outside.

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot attends the Jerusalem Residents’ Conference, August 12, 2026, in Jerusalem. Gadi Eisenkot, retired head of the Israel Defense Forces and current leader of the Yashar party, has emerged as Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger ahead of October’s general election. (Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

Religious Zionism-Zehut, Otzma Yehudit and Shas each confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday evening that they would recommend Netanyahu over Herzog in government formation consultations.

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that Bennett and Liberman’s recent support for Eisenkot suggests they are moving away from the prospect of a national unity government.

“I think it would behoove Netanyahu, Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Bennett and former Defense Minister Liberman to find a way to work together now, given the looming clash between the apocalyptic death cult known as the Iranian regime, Israel and, by extension, the rest of the Western world,” he said.

Complicating matters for Netanyahu is that the 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10. Its newly elected members are expected to begin forming committees and advancing legislation, while the current prime minister and ministers remain in office and continue to carry out their duties under the supervision of the new parliament, ensuring continuity of government.

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A supporter of former military leader Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, reacts to exit voting at his party’s headquarters on the night of Israel’s national elections, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 27, 2026. (Shir Torem/Reuters)

“They are doing everything they can to remove Netanyahu from power, and we are seeing that now with the discussions about replacing the Knesset speaker. They can then start trying to push legislation in a Knesset with 19 seats held by Arab parties, which would be very uncomfortable for Netanyahu,” Diker said.

Oren highlighted another potential challenge, suggesting that the interim government’s ability to launch military operations could face political constraints, potentially complicating any resumption of hostilities with Iran, even if U.S. President Donald Trump initiates such action.

Former Knesset member Dov Lipman told Fox News Digital that Eizenkot likely appears to be the primary lawmaker tasked with forming a government, but he suggested that most Israelis favor a national unity government built around Likud, Yashar and BeYachad, with one or more smaller parties also joining.

“At first, Eisenkot could approach Likud and ask it to join a government under its leadership, which Likud will reject. Eisenkot will then have to make a decision, because Liberman is unlikely to agree to serve in a government alongside Arab parties,” Lipman said.

Mansour Abbas, leader of the Raam party, speaks during the plenum of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, July 13, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

“Eisenkot will probably fail to form a government, after which the mandate will pass to Netanyahu, who will also probably fail.”

This would trigger a 21-day period during which any Knesset member could attempt to form a government with the support of at least 61 MKs. If the process reaches that stage, Eisenkot could agree to serve under Netanyahu for two years to avoid sending the country to new elections, Lipman said.

Professor Gideon Rahat, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, told Fox News Digital that Netanyahu would have to make concessions to persuade opposition leaders that he would honor his commitments, given their experience with the 2020 power-sharing deal with Benny Gantz, then head of the Blue and White party.

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Under the terms of the deal, Netanyahu was to serve as prime minister for the first 18 months, with Gantz serving as alternate prime minister and defense minister before taking over as prime minister on November 17, 2021. However, the deal collapsed after the government failed to pass a state budget by the December 2020 deadline, triggering the automatic dissolution of the Knesset and new elections. Gantz never served as prime minister.

Rahat cited Israel’s National Unity Government of 1984 to 1988 as a precedent, saying a similar arrangement could work.

“At the time, Israel was still embroiled in the Lebanon War, with IDF forces deployed in the country, while the economy faced a severe crisis, with annual inflation exceeding 400%. In this context, Likud and Labor formed a national unity government under a rotation agreement, with Shimon Peres as prime minister for the first two years, followed by Yitzhak Shamir for the next two years,” he said.

Although much of the public would likely support him, Rahat said, there are still issues that could create tension.

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“They will have to freeze the judicial reform launched by Netanyahu’s government, find a way to investigate October 7, as opposition parties demand, and agree on a mechanism for Netanyahu to leave office when the time comes. But when it comes to major security and economic issues, unity governments can be very effective,” Rahat said.

“Once they solve the major challenges, they start fighting among themselves and the magic ends.”