In a significant political setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has chosen opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to try to assemble the country's next governing coalition. Although Netanyahu’s Likud party secured 27 seats in last month’s general election—six more than Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party—neither faction won an outright majority in the 120-seat parliament, prompting Herzog to hand the initial mandate to Netanyahu's primary rival.
Eisenkot, who served as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019, founded Yashar on an anti-corruption and government reform platform. After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, he joined Netanyahu's emergency war cabinet, during which his son Gal and two nephews were killed in the fighting in Gaza. Eisenkot eventually resigned from the cabinet the following year, accusing Netanyahu of stalling efforts to end the Gaza war and secure the release of hostages.
Eisenkot now has 28 days, with the possibility of a 14-day extension, to negotiate across deep political divides and marshal the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority. The task will test whether disparate opposition factions can unite behind a shared program. If Eisenkot fails to forge an agreement, President Herzog can transfer the mandate to another lawmaker; should those negotiations also collapse, Israel will likely face yet another national election, leaving Netanyahu in place as caretaker prime minister in the interim.