The Israeli President assigns Gadi Eisenkot to form the government amid disagreements over Haredi recruitment

On Saturday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog chose Gadi Eisenkot, the strongest rival of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to form a new government.

Eisenkot is expected to meet with the leader of the "Israel Our Home" party, Avigdor Lieberman, within the framework of consultations to form the new government, amid disagreements over the possibility of using religiously extremist Jewish parties to secure a parliamentary majority.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday that he had chosen Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the new government, and that he would officially receive the assignment on Sunday.

Following his appointment, Eisenkot, who was chief of staff of the army between 2015 and 2019, said that he would do everything in his power to form a new government in Israel.

“Now is the time to form a national emergency government,” Eisenkot wrote on the X platform. “I will do everything necessary to ensure that we live up to this responsibility.”

Eisenkot received a recommendation from parties representing 67 deputies in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), which consists of 120 members, compared to only 46 deputies whose parties recommended appointing Netanyahu’s bloc.

After receiving the mandate from Herzog, Eisenkot will have 28 days to form the government, with the possibility of extending it for an additional 14 days. If Eisenkot fails, another candidate can try to form a government, and if that candidate fails, parliament can nominate another candidate. The period specified for this process is approximately 100 days. If no one succeeds, new elections are held.

The assignment comes in the wake of elections that did not give Eisenkot or Netanyahu a clear path to power.

Yashar Party, led by Eisenkot, had called on members of Netanyahu's Likud Party and its allies to join a coalition led by him.

The Yashar Party (meaning straight or upright) wrote in a post on the

This came shortly after Netanyahu called for the formation of a national unity government, warning at the same time that the alliance with the Arab parties would lead to the “disintegration” of Israel.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has indicated that he wants to push towards the formation of a national unity government that brings together Jewish Israelis from various parties.

It is noteworthy that Eisenkot had warned Netanyahu against launching a new war against Iran, in coordination with US President Donald Trump, considering that such a step might help Netanyahu push towards forming a national unity government, or buy time until new elections are held.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is struggling to retain his position, while the opportunity is still not impossible for him if Eisenkot fails to form a government coalition within the legal periods.

Netanyahu rejects the corruption charges against him, which could lead to his imprisonment if he leaves office. He also faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him in connection with the Gaza war, a decision that Netanyahu’s office described as “anti-Semitic,” stressing that Israel does not recognize the authority of the court.

Netanyahu will remain prime minister in a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed, or if this is not possible and new elections are held.

The Likud Party won the largest number of seats among the parties alone, winning 27 seats in the Knesset, but Netanyahu's coalition won only 53 seats.

This exceeds the tally of the anti-Netanyahu coalition led by Eisenkot, which includes four Jewish parties from trends extending from the center left to the right, and won only 48 seats despite opinion polls that preceded the elections showing a close race, and the two parties representing the Arabs in Israel obtained 19 seats, which is an unprecedented number.

In a setback for the prime minister on Thursday, United Torah Judaism, one of two major parties representing ultra-Orthodox voters and a long-time ally of Netanyahu, declined to recommend any candidate to form the government.

Although Eisenkot, like Netanyahu, ruled out forming a government with the two Arab-led parties, both parties announced their support for Eisenkot, giving him support from a comfortable majority of Knesset members.

The two Arab parties' support for Eisenkot comes because of their anger at what they describe as the racist policies of Netanyahu and his far-right allies. Meanwhile, right-leaning parties within the opposition oppose relying on Arab votes.

The leader of the "Israel Our Home" party, Avigdor Lieberman, confirmed his refusal to participate in a government that depends on the support of the Arab parties, expressing in return a willingness to reach understandings with the religiously extremist Jewish parties, including making concessions regarding the conscription law, in order to form a new government without Netanyahu.