Israeli President Isaac Herzog has chosen opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to receive the first mandate to try to form a government after the October 27 election left both Eisenkot’s bloc and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition short of a parliamentary majority.
Herzog’s office said Eisenkot will be formally tasked at the President’s Residence on Sunday, November 8.
Official election results show Netanyahu’s Likud remained the largest single party with 27 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Eisenkot’s Yashar won 21.
Reuters reported that Netanyahu’s wider religious-nationalist bloc holds 53 seats and Eisenkot’s four-party Jewish-led bloc 48, leaving neither at the 61 seats needed for a majority.
The two Arab-led lists won 19 seats combined.
During consultations at the President’s Residence, factions representing 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.
United Torah Judaism, which won seven seats and has traditionally aligned with Netanyahu, recommended neither candidate, according to the president’s office.
That split gives Eisenkot the first opportunity to negotiate a coalition but does not itself constitute a governing majority.
Eisenkot has said he wants a “national emergency government.”
Potential routes include a minority government supported from outside by Arab parties, cooperation with ultra-Orthodox parties, or a broad unity arrangement involving Likud.
Each faces resistance from parties whose support would be needed, including Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman’s opposition to a government dependent on Arab-party votes.
Under Israel’s Basic Law framework, a lawmaker tasked with forming a government receives 28 days, with the president able to grant an extension of up to 14 days.
The outgoing government remains in office until a new government wins the Knesset’s confidence.
The incoming 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday, November 10, according to the Knesset.
That timing means coalition negotiations will begin as the new parliament starts work, while Netanyahu remains prime minister in a caretaker capacity.
If Eisenkot cannot assemble a government, the process can move to another candidate under Israeli law, leaving the post-election contest unresolved.