Israel: Opposition leader Eisenkot is to form a new government

Now it's official: Israel's President Herzog has commissioned the opposition politician Eisenkot to form a government. The ex-military chief appealed to the other parties to “unconventional pol

Order for opposition leader Eisenkot “Unconventional” government formation in Israel? As of: November 8, 2026 • 5:07 p.m

Now it's official: Israel's President Herzog has commissioned the opposition politician Eisenkot to form a government. The ex-military chief appealed to the other parties to accept “unconventional political steps.”

Many people in Israel are hoping for a political change: opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot is said to be trying to form a new government. Today, President Izchak Herzog officially gave him the order to do so at his residence in Jerusalem.

“The state of Israel needs a stable government,” said Herzog. Eisenkot looks similar. Israeli democracy is in one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Eisenkot said he wanted to represent all parts of society and work to ensure that Israel "regains safe shores and finds its way back to mental health."

“We are in a state of emergency and are approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel,” said the 66-year-old former chief of staff. He called for the formation of an emergency government. This will require “creative and unconventional political steps.” He extends his hand to all parties and their representatives: "My door is open."

Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government. If that is not enough, he could extend the deadline by 14 days. If no alliance is formed, Herzog's task of forming a government will go to another parliamentarian. If that happens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considered the likely candidate.

Björn Dake, ARD Tel Aviv, about the upcoming government formation in Israel tagesschau24, November 8th, 2026 • 5:00 p.m. What options are there for a government? One thing is clear: Eisenkot is not facing an easy task. His opposition alliance is 13 seats short of the majority of 61. Theoretically, the Arab parties United List and Raam could come. You have 19 mandates. However, many politicians have reservations about this - both about participating in a coalition and about the possibility of having a minority government tolerated by the two parties.

A second possibility is that Eisenkot forms a government from the four-party opposition alliance and the ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas. But this is more of a purely mathematical option. Schas had spoken out in favor of Netanyahu during the consultations, and the UTJ had refrained from making a recommendation.

A grand coalition between the opposition camp and the Likud would also be possible. However, only cooperation without Netanyahu at the top would be an option. However, it is completely unclear whether there could be a change in leadership and whether the parties would agree on a common government program.

The Arab lists in Israel achieved great success in the parliamentary elections. more

Eisenkot's centrist Jashar party won fewer seats in the parliamentary election than Netanyahu's right-wing conservative Likud party. Netanyahu's bloc - which also included the ultra-Orthodox parties - won 53 seats, while Eisenkot's opposition alliance had 48.

But the opposition politician received the most recommendations in consultations with all parties to form a government. 67 of the 120 MPs spoke in favor of the ex-military chief. However, this does not guarantee successful coalition formation. There were five elections in Israel between 2019 and 2022 due to repeated stalemate.