Israeli President Isaac Herzog has tasked Gadi Eisenkot with forming the country’s next government, leaving out the former army chief’s rival, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog informed Eisenkot of his decision on Saturday evening and will formally hand over the mandate to him at a ceremony on Sunday, the president’s spokesperson said.
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Herzog held consultations with political parties this week to decide who he would appoint to form a government after neither side secured a majority in the Oct. 27 general election.
Some 67 MPs, including from Arab parties, backed Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, to form the next government, while only 46 backed Netanyahu, the current prime minister.
Eisenkot will have 28 days – with a possible extension of 14 days – to build a coalition of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats, the minimum threshold to form a government.
In October’s elections, Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 seats, while Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc took 53, leaving them short of the 61 needed to secure a parliamentary majority. Arab parties, representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, won a record 19 seats.
Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with Arab parties, which would give him a bloc of 67 seats. Winning both ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would give it exactly 61 seats.
He could also form a government with fewer than 61 seats if he wins the parliamentary vote of confidence.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Herzog’s decision, said the president “took the predictable route” in choosing Eisenkot because he had the most recommendations.
“The hard work will begin now for Eisenkot to form a government capable of passing a vote of confidence in the Knesset that: first, does not break too many of the promises he made during the election campaign; and second, who can survive the opposition of the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu,” Odeh said.
If Eisenkot fails to form a government within the stipulated time, Herzog will nominate another candidate. If the second candidate fails, a parliamentary majority can support a third candidate, who will benefit from a final deadline of 14 days.
If, once again, no government is formed, new elections will be called within 90 days, with Netanyahu remaining as interim prime minister.
United against the Netanyahu government
Eisenkot led the Israeli military from 2015 to 2019 and served as an observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet during the first eight months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023.
Ahmad Tibi, a senior official in the Joint List – an Arab-led coalition of parties that holds 11 seats – told Al Jazeera on Saturday that Herzog’s decision was “expected”.
“We were concerned that the president was moving toward a government of national unity,” he said, referring to a proposed power-sharing deal between Eisenkot and Netanyahu.
Instead, Arab parties supported Eisenkot for the mandate, giving him a “considerable margin.”
Tibi said he believed Eisenkot was heading toward a minority government “with external support from Arab parties.”
Although not a “dream government” for Arab-led parties, Tibi prioritized overthrowing the “government of Netanyahu, (Itamar) Ben-Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich.”
Hours before Herzog’s decision, Netanyahu warned that a government formed by the opposition bloc with the support of Arab parties would lead to Israel’s collapse.
“Such a government, dependent on Islamists, will dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is the case in European countries, and much worse than that,” Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video speech, echoing the language of far-right politicians who falsely claim that parts of Europe are subject to Islamic law.
Netanyahu “described us as supporters of terrorists and terrorism,” Tibi said. “My answer is this: Netanyahu is the biggest terrorist in Israel and the region, and the leading supporter of terrorism, particularly Jewish terrorism in the West Bank and the Palestinian territories. »
Al Jazeera’s Odeh noted that although Eisenkot expressly said he did not want to form a government with Arab-led parties, “they both share very compelling reasons to get rid of Netanyahu.”
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