Key points

  • President Isaac Herzog informed Gadi Eisenkot on Saturday evening that he will task him with forming Israel's next government, and will formally hand him the mandate at a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday, Herzog's office said.
  • Sixty-seven of the Knesset's 120 members recommended Eisenkot during the president's consultations, against 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Al Jazeera reported.
  • Eisenkot will have 28 days to assemble a coalition of at least 61 seats, with a possible 14-day extension under Israel's Basic Law: The Government.
  • Eisenkot's own alliance won 48 seats in the 27 October election, and he has ruled out forming a government with the Arab-led parties whose recommendations lifted him to 67, Al Jazeera reported.
  • Netanyahu remains prime minister in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed, and would be the expected next candidate if Eisenkot fails.

Israel's president has asked former army chief Gadi Eisenkot to try to form the country's next government, passing over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after an election that left neither man with a parliamentary majority. President Isaac Herzog informed Eisenkot of his decision on Saturday evening, his office said, and will formally hand him the mandate at a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon, Al Jazeera reported.

The key figures

Key figures
MeasureFigureSource
Lawmakers recommending Eisenkot67 of 120President's office; Al Jazeera
Lawmakers recommending Netanyahu46 of 120President's office; Al Jazeera
Lawmakers recommending no one7 (United Torah Judaism)Jerusalem Post; Economic Times
Seats won by Eisenkot's alliance48Al Jazeera; Jerusalem Post
Seats won by Netanyahu's bloc53Economic Times
Seats won by Eisenkot's Yashar party21Washington Post, via DNYUZ
Seats needed for a majority61 of 120Basic Law: The Government
Time to form a government28 days, plus a possible 14-day extensionBasic Law: The Government
Knesset to be sworn in10 November 2026Jerusalem Post

The decision

Herzog held consultations with every party elected to the Knesset during the week after the 27 October general election, in which neither camp secured the 61 seats needed to govern. His office said he informed both Eisenkot and Netanyahu of his decision on Saturday evening, after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, and invited Eisenkot to the President's Residence to receive the mandate on Sunday at 5pm local time. Read more: Record turnout in Israel's election as voters deliver wartime verdict on Netanyahu

Eisenkot responded to the decision by saying it was time to form a national emergency government, Haaretz reported. He leads the centrist Yashar party and, as a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, campaigned on restoring national unity after three years of war. Yashar said his 67 recommendations were the most any candidate had received since 2015, Al Jazeera reported.

President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv in June 2024
President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv in June 2024. File photo. Photo: U.S. Department of State / Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Source file

The arithmetic problem

The mandate does not make Eisenkot prime minister, and the numbers behind it show why the coalition talks will be difficult. The 67 recommendations include the 19 seats of the Arab-led parties — Ra'am with eight and the Joint List with eleven — whose backing lifted him past Netanyahu, the Jerusalem Post reported. But Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with those parties, Al Jazeera reported, and their recommendations do not commit them to joining his coalition. His own four-party alliance holds 48 seats, thirteen short of a majority, so he must win over parties that backed Netanyahu or that recommended no one — including United Torah Judaism, which backed Netanyahu in the previous five elections but declined to recommend him this time, the Economic Times reported.

The bronze menorah outside the Knesset in Jerusalem
The bronze menorah outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. File photo. Photo: B0x3rg1r1 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source file · Licence

What happens next

Eisenkot's 28 days begin when he formally receives the mandate on Sunday. If he cannot assemble a government, or asks for more time, Herzog may grant up to 14 extra days; if he still fails, the president is expected to turn to Netanyahu, who would then have 28 days of his own, Haaretz reported. If a second nominee also fails, any Knesset member backed by 61 lawmakers gets a final 14 days, and if that fails too, a new election must be called within 90 days, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker prime minister, Al Jazeera reported. The new Knesset is due to be sworn in on Tuesday 10 November, regardless of the state of the coalition talks. Europe Unfolded will report the outcome of the talks as they are confirmed.

Updates & corrections

Published 8 November 2026.

Sources

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