Jerusalem (AFP) - Former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot on Sunday officially began the task of forming a new government, issuing invitations to Benjamin Netanyahu's allies to join his government, while at the same time describing him as having led the country into a historic crisis.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 18:43

Eisenkot (66 years old) officially received a letter of appointment from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who gave him 28 days to form a government, despite his camp not having a clear parliamentary majority.

“We are in a state of emergency, and we are approaching the point of no return for the State of Israel,” Eisenkot said, at a ceremony held at the presidential headquarters in Jerusalem, wearing a formal suit and tie, unlike the black clothes he usually wears.

He added, "We must form a national emergency government, and this will require innovative and unconventional political steps."

Eisenkot is the son of a family of immigrants from Morocco with working roots.

If he succeeds in forming a government, he will be the first Israeli prime minister of Sephardi origin, that is, a Jew whose origins go back to the Middle East and North Africa, in a country dominated for long periods by an Ashkenazi elite whose roots are linked to Europe.

As for Netanyahu, who held prime minister intermittently for nearly two decades, and led the war on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran since the attacks of October 7, 2023, he lost part of the support in last month’s elections, but neither camp was able to obtain an absolute majority.

During the assignment ceremony, both Eisenkot and Herzog acknowledged Israel's increasing isolation on the international scene under Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

In the United States, Israel's most important ally, Democrats achieved victories in Tuesday's elections, amid calls to restrain Israel, against the backdrop of the devastation inflicted on the Gaza Strip, and dissatisfaction with the war on Iran that Netanyahu launched in cooperation with US President Donald Trump.

“We are in the midst of a devastating diplomatic crisis,” Eisenkot said, “and even our closest friends and strategic allies say that the relationship with Israel must undergo a reassessment.”

Eisenkot, who has communicated with secular and liberal Israelis, but is also allied with forces on the right, extended an invitation to the Likud Party led by Netanyahu, as well as to the “Religious Zionism” party led by Bezalel Smotrich, to join a government that he heads.

He said, "My door is open, and my hand is extended with all sincerity and readiness, to everyone who realizes the seriousness of this stage."

The initial deadline for assignment may be extended for an additional 14 days.

If he is unable to compose it, the President has the right to assign the task to another person.

Co-optation of the Haredim

During the consultations that Eisenkot conducted last week with Herzog, he obtained recommendations from parties that together represent 67 representatives, compared to 46 representatives who recommended appointing Netanyahu.

But these recommendations included the Arab parties in Israel, whose number of seats rose to 19, a historic record, amid anger at the right-wing Netanyahu government’s policy towards them.

Opposition bloc member Avigdor Lieberman, a former aide to Netanyahu who has become one of his harshest critics despite supporting many of his policies, confirmed that he would not ally with Eisenkot if he relied on the votes of Arabs in Israel.

The Arab citizens of Israel are the children and grandchildren of 160,000 Palestinians who remained in their lands after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and today they constitute about 20 percent of the population.

On Friday, the Israeli opposition showed flexibility with regard to establishing an alliance with the religiously extremist Haredi Jews, who seek to ensure their continued exemption from compulsory conscription and military service.

Lieberman said on Sunday that he still supports imposing mandatory conscription on all Israelis, but he is forced to make "difficult decisions" in order to ensure Netanyahu's removal from power.

However, Lieberman maintained his position of rejecting any alliance with Arab parties in Israel.

“I will not extend a helping hand to the formation of such a government, which, in my opinion, would harm security and return Netanyahu to power,” Lieberman wrote on the “X” platform.

Lieberman's party, which has seven seats, belongs to the smallest party in the opposition camp.

Lieberman denied speculation that he was seeking to create a state of political stalemate that might allow him to become prime minister.

Lieberman, who was born in Moldova and whose party's electoral base is based mainly on Russian immigrants, said that analysts' comments about his motives had "sometimes taken a clear racist character."

As for Naftali Bennett, the second most prominent opposition leader after Lieberman, he has also repeatedly expressed his opposition to exempting the ultra-Orthodox community from military service, but he has remained silent since Lieberman retracted his position.

'Fragile' government

It seems that Eisenkot is ready to begin forming a minority government, relying on supportive votes from outside the coalition, including the votes of Arab parties in Israel, while continuing to work on forming a stable government that enjoys the support of a parliamentary majority.

An expert at the Israeli Democracy Institute, Assaf Shapira, said that if Eizenkot is limited to 48 representatives, the government he will form will be weak, even if other parties pledge to keep it in power.

“To pass laws, you need strong support from other parties,” Shapira explained, noting that the minority government that Eisenkot may form will be forced to engage in intense negotiations on each draft law.

Eisenkot pledged to reform Israel's image on the international stage and put an end to the widespread violence practiced by extremist settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with the support of Netanyahu's government.

Netanyahu also warned that he did not have a mandate to launch a new attack on Iran, although he largely expressed support for his decisions regarding the war.

Eisenkot took command of the Israeli army during the 2006 war with Lebanese Hezbollah, and called for the use of massive military force against civilian infrastructure in areas where opponents are active, a policy that critics see as amounting to a war crime.

In Tel Aviv, Neri Bar-On, who works in the field of educational technology, said he expects Eisenkot to succeed in forming the government.

But he believes that "the problems are deeper than that."

He added, "The country is facing a widespread internal conflict, and even if Eisenkot succeeds in forming a government, this will not solve the basic problems."

© 2026 AFP

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