Israeli Opposition Leader Gadi Eisenkot Secures Majority Recommendations for Government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that he will decide on Sunday which lawmaker to task with forming a new government after opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured sixty-seven recommendations from parliament members following the October 27 election.

Outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received forty-six recommendations, while seven members of United Torah Judaism abstained from supporting either candidate. Eisenkot stated that negotiations to establish a national emergency government had advanced and proposed an administration based on four principles, including recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and committing to dismantle Hamas. Two Arab-majority lists, Ra'am and the Joint List, endorsed Eisenkot, providing the backing needed to surpass the majority threshold in the one hundred twenty-seat Knesset.

However, right-wing party leader Avigdor Liberman indicated opposition to relying on Arab parties while simultaneously signaling flexibility regarding haredi military conscription legislation to facilitate a coalition. Netanyahu's coalition dropped to fifty-three seats in the fragmented parliament, while Eisenkot's Yashar party and allied Zionist opposition factions hold forty-eight seats. Herzog stressed that mutual vetoes between and within political blocs complicate the path to a stable administration despite the recommendation tally.