Isaac Herzog Consults Parties as Gadi Eisenkot Seeks Mandate to Form Israel Government

Herzog consults, Eisenkot backed

President Isaac Herzog summoned party representatives for consultations starting Wednesday to decide whom to task with forming the next government, as Israel’s election left no bloc at 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, secured the support of Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yair Golan’s Democrats, putting him in a strong position on Wednesday. Eisenkot still remained short of the 61 Knesset members he would need, while Netanyahu’s bloc of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties held 53 seats and the Jewish-Zionist opposition bloc held 48.

The two Arab parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, together held 19 seats, making them pivotal to any path to 61. Herzog’s consultations were set to begin with those that obtained fewer seats, and the process was framed around the role that the opposition bloc could grant to Arab lists.

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Arab parties become the hinge

Youssef Jabareen of the Joint List urged negotiators to “accept political reality,” saying anyone “is truly determined to replace this government has an obligation to accept the political reality” of working with Arab parties. Avigdor Lieberman opposed an alliance with Arab parties, and he ruled out a unity government with Netanyahu and a minority administration that would depend on the support of parties led by Arabs, saying it would “survive less than a year.” Yair Golan backed Eisenkot and warned that Netanyahu could try to extend his time in power through a new military escalation in Gaza or against Iran, while he argued the prime minister could resort to a state of emergency to delay a change of government.

The Democrats’ endorsement of Eisenkot was described as coming ahead of Herzog’s consultations with party representatives beginning Wednesday, with the process expected to continue through Thursday night. The political arithmetic remained centered on the Joint List’s 11 seats and Ra’am’s eight, because the opposition bloc lacked the required 61 seats without Arab parties.

Reporting for this sectionDWLa Política Online

Mandate fight and deadlines

Yashar and its allies pushed to secure the first mandate from President Isaac Herzog, because a senior official warned that if the entire bloc does not recommend Eisenkot, “all the judicial overhaul laws passed by the current coalition will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.”

The same reporting said the legislation included laws concerning the attorney general, the Justice Ministry's Police Internal Investigations Department and the composition of the committee responsible for selecting judges, and it framed the stakes as control of the Knesset’s Arrangements Committee.

Herzog urged leaders to abandon campaign positions, telling them, “Stop climbing the trees and face that reality,” as he planned to summon representatives of the parties elected to the 26th Knesset as early as Wednesday, November 4.

The election results left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats, Eisenkot’s bloc with 48, and the two Arab parties with a combined 19, while the process required a majority of 61 seats to pass ordinary legislation and approve a government.

Under Israeli law, the designated candidate would have 28 days to form a government with a possible 14-day extension, and the sources described the consultations as the formal start of negotiations to establish the next administration.

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