Gadi Eisenkot was assigned to form the government in Israel

The office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday that the latter will assign the leader of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, to form an Israeli government tomorrow, Sunday, in a setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement by Herzog's office came after consultations conducted by the President last week over two days with all parties that were elected to the Knesset.

Thus, retired military commander Eisenkot is one step closer to overthrowing Netanyahu, who served as Israel's longest-serving prime minister, although the path to that is still fraught with complications. Eisenkot will have up to six weeks to try to form a coalition to replace Netanyahu, but his path to power is fraught with political obstacles and divisions within the opposition itself.

Eisenkot received the support of 67 members of the new Knesset, including 19 members from the two Arab parties, while Netanyahu received only 46 recommendations. Herzog's decision does not automatically mean removing Netanyahu from power; Eisenkot has a mandate and a parliamentary majority “on paper,” but he has not yet formed a government coalition.

Eisenkot seeks to form what he calls a "national emergency government" and work to ensure that a minority government is sworn in as soon as possible. This government is supposed to include the four Jewish opposition parties, which together have 48 seats: the Yashar Party (led by Eisenkot), an alliance that includes former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, the Yisrael Beytenu party led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the left-wing Democrats led by Yair Golan.

Eisenkot set four conditions for joining the government: recognition of Israel as a liberal, democratic, egalitarian Jewish state, adherence to the values ​​of the Declaration of Independence, adoption of comprehensive public service (whether military, national, or civilian), and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization. The last condition practically excludes Arab parties from participating in the government, despite the possibility of supporting the government from abroad, to provide a parliamentary “safety net.”

Israeli law stipulates that forming a government requires only a simple majority, while the process of overthrowing it is more complicated. It requires an absolute majority (61 votes) to support the formation of an alternative government (note that the Knesset has 120 seats). Lieberman stands out as a major obstacle to Eisenkot; The leader of the "Israel Our Home" party - who previously held the defense, foreign and finance portfolios - ruled out any government that relied on Arab parties.

Lieberman believes that the minority government will be short-lived, and will ultimately only strengthen Netanyahu's position. Lieberman wrote on the “X” platform on Friday: “We will witness the return of Netanyahu with 70 seats for another four years, and from here it will be a short road to destruction.”

Instead, Lieberman suggested a different path; He retracted his years-long opposition to the participation of the Haredi (orthodox Jewish) parties, calling for making “the utmost effort” to form a coalition that includes 61 representatives, including the two Haredi parties, “Shas” and “United Torah Judaism,” and excluding the “Joint List” and the “United Arab List.” He added that once this coalition is formed, three or four representatives may defect from the Likud Party.

However, this plan conflicts with one of the core commitments of the opposition, which is to abolish the comprehensive exemption granted to Haredi men from compulsory military service. The Haredi parties are pressing to enact legislation enshrining this exemption, while Eisenkot, Lieberman, and the rest of the opposition parties pledged - during the election campaign - to impose military service on everyone.

Moreover, one of the ultra-Orthodox parties remains loyal to Netanyahu. For his part, Netanyahu - who lost his parliamentary majority - is exerting intense pressure against any political cooperation between Jews and Arabs. He casts doubt on the election results, claiming that Arab parties “stole” the votes through bribes and external funding.

David Zinni, a pro-Netanyahu figure in the Shin Bet, also seeks to push for investigations into Arab politicians without providing any public evidence. In a video statement issued on Saturday, Netanyahu warned that the formation of a minority government with the support of Arab parties means that Israel “simply will not survive.”

Instead, Netanyahu called for the formation of a national unity government that includes his entire bloc, including far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, directing his call to “all Zionist parties that wish to preserve our only state for the Jewish people.” Eisenkot rejected this proposal, describing it as a "pathetic maneuver."

Eisenkot will face his first test on Tuesday, coinciding with the swearing-in ceremony for the new Knesset, as the opposition intends to replace the Knesset speaker appointed by Netanyahu, with the aim of weakening his grip on power, allowing the opposition parties to begin taking certain steps, such as forming an official investigation committee into the security failures that led to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Starting Sunday, Eisenkot will be given a 28-day deadline to negotiate with other parties regarding ministerial positions, budgets and policies, with the possibility of extending this period for an additional 14 days.

If he fails to do so, the mandate will pass to Netanyahu for another four weeks. Eisenkot said on Friday that he intends to form a government as soon as possible, describing the current situation as a national emergency.

Eisenkot wrote on the “X” platform: “For a caretaker prime minister - who heads a minority government and has severely lost the people’s trust - to remain in office, while continuing to manage the security system and law enforcement agencies, is a dangerous situation that should not continue for even one additional day.”