67 Knesset members back Eisenkot in bid to replace Netanyahu
Gadi Eisenkot has secured enough endorsements to be tapped by President Isaac Herzog to form a coalition, but his bloc still faces difficult hurdles to reach a majority.
By Noor Phillips ·
Sixty-seven members of the Knesset have endorsed Gadi Eisenkot to be the first to attempt forming a governing coalition, giving him a lead over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to announce on Sunday who he will appoint to that role. The appointment is expected to go to Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party, based on the current tally of endorsements.
This development follows last month’s general election, in which no single political bloc secured the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Yashar, which is part of the opposition, won 21 seats, the most of any party not aligned with Netanyahu. Eisenkot’s bloc, consisting of four Zionist parties, holds 48 seats in total. To form a stable government, his coalition must add at least 13 seats from other parties or secure a plurality if enough opponents abstain.
Eisenkot has 28 days to negotiate a coalition after receiving the mandate from Herzog. The president can grant a 14-day extension if Eisenkot requests one. If Eisenkot fails to form a government, another candidate may be given a chance, or the country may face a new round of elections.
The most discussed path to a majority involves an alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties. United Torah Judaism, which holds seven seats, told Herzog it would not endorse either candidate, a move that breaks from its traditional alignment with Netanyahu. The party indicated it would support the bloc willing to make concessions on the conscription of Haredi men. Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and a member of Eisenkot’s bloc, signaled on Friday that he was open to cooperating with these parties.
Lieberman stated that the election results require politicians to rethink their approach and show flexibility. He emphasized the need for painful compromises on military service. However, he also ruled out supporting a minority government, which raises the threshold for success to a full 61-seat majority. This would require the support of both major ultra-Orthodox parties, including Shas, which has maintained a close relationship with Netanyahu and has not signaled a break.
A second potential route is cooperation with the two Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, which together hold 19 seats. Ra’am could provide active support, while the Joint List might abstain. However, Lieberman has said he opposes any government that relies on the abstention of these parties. Eisenkot previously stated in an interview that the Arab parties did not meet his conditions for joining a government, including recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization.
A third option is a national unity government with Netanyahu’s bloc. All leaders in the opposition have publicly ruled this out, describing the need to replace Netanyahu’s leadership as urgent. Naftali Bennett, who leads the B’Yachad party, and Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats, have both stressed the importance of ending the current government. The assumption is that Netanyahu would prefer a new election to a rotation agreement where he remains prime minister initially.
Dan Illouz, a Knesset member from Lieberman’s party, wrote on Friday that he could not give up on a conscription law. This internal dissent highlights the tension within the bloc between the promise to change the approach to military service and the practical need to form a majority. The next step is Herzog’s announcement on Sunday, which will formally begin the 28-day negotiation period for Eisenkot.
