Officially tasked on Sunday with forming the next Israeli government, former centrist senior officer Gadi Eisenkot called for unity in the face of a “historic crisis”, for which he holds Benjamin Netanyahu responsible. He nevertheless said he was open to a coalition with elected officials from Likud, but also from Bezalel Smotrich's far-right party.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 18:12Modified on: 08/11/2026 - 22:00

“It’s time for unity.” The leader of the Israeli opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, who officially received the mandate to form the next government on Sunday, November 8, said he was open to a coalition including the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he blamed for having plunged the country into a historic crisis.

Twelve days after the legislative elections, the 66-year-old former chief of staff obtained the support of 67 deputies, compared to 46 for the outgoing Prime Minister.

During a ceremony at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, President Isaac Herzog called on him to form a government capable of uniting across political divides.

“The State of Israel needs a stable government (...) Eisenkot, I expect you to do everything possible to form a government that will serve both those who voted for you and those who did not,” Isaac Herzog said.

Also read: Israel: Isaac Herzog, a president with a crucial role in the formation of a new government

A “point of no return for the State of Israel”

In response, the former centrist high-ranking officer said he was ready to welcome into his coalition members of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud – on whose ousting he focused his campaign – but also from the Religious Zionist Party, the far-right formation of outgoing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“If the members” of these two parties “sincerely believe that the time has come for unity (...) I see no reason why they would not support a government led by me and based on the principles that I have presented,” he declared.

“We are going through one of the most critical periods that Israeli democracy has ever known”, and “we are approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel”, he highlighted, calling for “creative and unconventional” political measures.

Gadi Eisenkot now has 28 days to form a coalition, a deadline which can be extended by 14 days.

The negotiations promise to be difficult. If the parties supporting Gadi Eisenkot are united in their desire to end Benjamin Netanyahu's two decades in power, they represent a vast political spectrum and diverge on the composition of the future coalition.

Also read: Elections in Israel: can the “huge success” of Arab parties bring down Netanyahu?

The main sticking point concerns the role of the two main Arab-majority lists, which won 19 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Their support for Gadi Eisenkot could be decisive, but several of his allies refuse to depend on their votes.

The formation of a “national emergency government”?

In a society traumatized and radicalized by the attack by the Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, cooperation with the parties representing the Palestinians of Israel – around 20% of the population – could turn away part of the Jewish electorate.

Given the differences, Gadi Eisenkot could attempt to form a minority government, not having the support of the 61 deputies required for a majority in Parliament.

He hinted at this possibility by calling for the formation of a “national emergency government”.

According to this scenario, only the 48 deputies from his bloc would vote for his government, compared to 46 loyal to Benjamin Netanyahu. Among the 26 others, from Arab parties and ultra-Orthodox groups, elected officials could abstain.

A government supported by only 48 deputies would, however, be particularly fragile, underlines to AFP Assaf Shapira, of the Israeli Institute for Democracy.

“To pass laws, you have to obtain significant support from other parties,” explains this political scientist. The government should negotiate each text.

But according to Assaf Shapira, these negotiations could also allow Arab or ultra-Orthodox groups to have more weight and "strengthen" Parliament's control over the executive.

See alsoLegislative elections in Israel: Netanyahu, double or double?

“Implement Trump’s 20-point plan”

Pending an outcome, President Herzog highlighted the diplomatic challenges that the country faced, particularly after the rout of Donald Trump's camp in the American mid-term elections.

“We must advance diplomatic processes in the region after the war, implement the US president's 20-point plan” for Gaza, and “face a new political reality” in the United States, Israel's main ally, he said.

Big winners of Tuesday's midterms, Democrats called for curbing support for Israel in the face of the devastating war in Gaza and the unpopularity of the conflict against Iran, launched at the end of February by Netanyahu and Trump.

For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to exploit the divisions of his adversaries and continues to attack Arab parties. On Saturday evening, he again affirmed that bringing them into a coalition “would dismantle the State of Israel from the inside”.

With AFP

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