Israel: Eisenkot Gets Mandate to Form Government as Netanyahu Bloc Falls Short of Majority
President Herzog has given Gadi Eisenkot 28 days to build a coalition. Likud won 27 seats and Yashar 21, with neither bloc reaching 61.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has handed former army chief Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form the next government, putting Benjamin Netanyahu’s long hold on power at real risk. Eisenkot now has 28 days to put together a coalition, and the deadline can be stretched by another 14 days. If he fails, Israel could be heading for yet another election.
How the seats fell
Official results were presented to the President on 4 November. Turnout was 77.7%, up 7.1 points from 2022, according to The Jerusalem Post.
- Likud (Netanyahu): 27 seats
- Yashar (Eisenkot): 21 seats
- B’Yachad (Naftali Bennett): 12 seats
- Netanyahu’s bloc: 53 seats
- Eisenkot-led opposition bloc: 48 seats
- Joint List and Ra’am (Arab parties): 19 seats together
With neither main bloc able to govern on its own numbers, smaller parties hold the balance.
The coalition puzzle
Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List are in touch with senior figures in the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ), who could end up as kingmakers. Yashar lawmaker Shaul Meridor has said haredi parties could join an Eisenkot-led government if they accept four principles. But there is friction within the camp too: Miriam Peretz has threatened to quit the Knesset if Yashar forms a government that includes an Arab party.
Netanyahu stays on as caretaker
Netanyahu remains Prime Minister while his government serves in a caretaker role. Eisenkot asked the Attorney General to step in after Netanyahu denied him security briefings; the two later held a two-hour security briefing on possible renewed military action against Iran.
Separately, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, said the inquiry into suspicions around the election is still going on and has not yet produced evidence.
Sources
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