Israeli President Isaac Herzog has given Gadi Eisenkot the task of forming the country’s next government, bypassing former army chief Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival. Herzog informed Eisenkot of his decision on Saturday night and will formally hand him the mandate at a ceremony on Sunday, the president’s spokesman said. Some 67 lawmakers, including those from Arab-led 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 14-day extension – to build a coalition of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats, the minimum threshold for a government. In the October election, Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 seats, while Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc won 53, leaving both short of the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority. Arab-led parties, representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, won a record 19 seats. Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with Arab-led parties, which would give him a bloc of 67 seats. Beating the two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would give him exactly 61 seats. It could also form a government with fewer than 61 seats if it wins a 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 selecting Eisenkot since he had the highest number of recommendations. “The hard work will begin. Now it is up to Eisenkot to form a government that can pass a vote of confidence in the Knesset that: one, will not renege on many of the promises he made during the election campaign; and two, that can survive opposition from the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu,” Odeh said. If Eisenkot fails to form a government within the allotted time, Herzog will nominate another candidate. If the second candidate fails, a parliamentary majority can back a third candidate, who will be given the final 14 days. If, once again, no government is formed, new elections will be called within 90 days, and Netanyahu will remain as interim prime minister. United against Netanyahu’s government Eisenkot led Israel’s military from 2015 to 2019 and sat as an observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet during the first eight months of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which began in October 2023. Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Joint List, a coalition of Arab-led parties that has 11 seats, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that Herzog’s decision was “expected”. “We were concerned that the president would move toward a government of national unity,” he said, referring to a proposed power-sharing agreement between Eisenkot and Netanyahu. endorsed Eisenkot for the mandate, giving him a “considerable margin.” Tibi said he believes Eisenkot is heading for a minority government “with external support from Arab parties.” While this would not be a “dream government” for Arab-led parties, Tibi prioritized bringing down “the Netanyahu government, [Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich.” Hours before Herzog’s decision, Netanyahu had warned that a government formed by the opposition bloc with the support of Arab-led parties would lead to Israel’s collapse. “Such a government, dependent on Islamists, will dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is happening 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 have fallen under their control. Netanyahu “described us as supporters of terrorists and terrorism,” Tibi said. “My response to him is this: Netanyahu is the biggest terrorist in Israel and the region, and the main supporter of terrorism, particularly of Jewish terrorism in the West Bank and the Palestinian territories.”
