Israeli President Isaac Herzog has tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new coalition government, giving the former military chief 28 days to build an administration after last week's election produced no clear majority. Herzog announced the decision after consulting with political parties represented in the incoming Knesset, Israel's parliament. Eisenkot received 67 recommendations for the premiership compared to 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The election left Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies with 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Eisenkot's centrist Yashar party and three other Jewish opposition parties in his bloc won 48 seats. Two Arab-led alliances, the United Arab List and the Joint List, won 19 seats following a surge in turnout among Arab voters, positioning them as potential power brokers.
Eisenkot now faces the challenge of assembling a coalition within 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. Three paths appear possible: a national unity government involving both Eisenkot and Netanyahu, a right-wing coalition built on defections from Eisenkot's bloc to Netanyahu, or an Eisenkot-led government relying on the Arab parties. However, all but one of the Jewish parties pledged before the election not to work with Arab parties to form a government, though observers have speculated an agreement could be reached.
No political party in Israel has ever won an outright majority, requiring all governments to be coalitions. Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five separate elections as Netanyahu and his rivals repeatedly failed to form stable coalitions. Herzog said during his consultations that preventing another election round would require parties to recognize that not every campaign commitment could be fulfilled in the current reality.