President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday that he would assign Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot the task of forming Israel's next government. Eisenkot secured recommendations from 67 Knesset members, while 46 backed Benjamin Netanyahu and seven abstained.
Eisenkot was invited to the President's Residence on Sunday at 5 p.m. to formally receive the mandate. Yet the backing he assembled falls well short of what is needed to swear in a government, and the divisions among his potential coalition partners run so deep that Herzog himself spent the weekend seeking clarification on how Eisenkot plans to bridge them.
After consultations held last week, the president conducted further talks by telephone with several party leaders over the past 24 hours. He did not reach everyone: some observe Shabbat, at least one leader was unavailable, and additional conversations with every faction were deemed unnecessary.
The inquiries centered on a practical dilemma. Avigdor Liberman rejects any government dependent on Arab parties, the B'Yachad party insists on a coalition of those who serve with haredi conscription and equality in sharing the burden, and the haredi parties demand legislation regulating the status of yeshiva students while opposing recruitment targets and sanctions.
The numbers underscore the problem. Of the 67 MKs who recommended Eisenkot, 19 belong to Arab parties, leaving the Zionist change bloc with only 48 seats. To reach a 61-seat majority with the haredi parties, Eisenkot would need United Torah Judaism's seven seats and Shas's six. But Shas chairman Arye Deri recommended Netanyahu, and haredi sources say it is hard to imagine Shas even entering negotiations with Eisenkot. "It was no coincidence that Deri recommended Netanyahu," the sources said, adding that even progress with United Torah Judaism, which is neither clear nor guaranteed, would not ensure Deri's participation. Without Shas, the change bloc and United Torah Judaism together hold just 55 seats.
Liberman has given Eisenkot his full backing and does not intend to demand a rotation agreement, either for his recommendation or in discussions over the next Knesset speaker. He has also dropped his principled objection to partnering with the haredi parties and agreed to consider compromises on the conscription law based on the framework he proposed in 2018. Haredi sources say the mutual veto between Liberman and the haredi parties has been lifted on both sides, contacts are already underway, and years of cooperation with Liberman have built a level of trust that may even exceed what they place in Eisenkot.
The alternative, a minority government propped up by abstentions from Arab parties, faces firm resistance. Liberman has made clear he will not accept a government formed with the support of Ra'am or the Joint List, or even through their abstention. Haredi circles assess that if Eisenkot pursues that scenario, the haredi parties will vote against it and expect Yisrael Beytenu to follow suit. These are assessments rather than official decisions, but they suggest Eisenkot could struggle under either of his two main options.
Eisenkot is not rushing to abandon the idea of first forming a national emergency government from the change bloc and expanding it later. On Friday, he published four principles for joining his government: recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, acceptance of the values of the Declaration of Independence, mandatory military, national, or civilian service, and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization alongside a commitment to dismantling its military and governing capabilities. He also warned against those who would obstruct a government for personal reasons. The statement sketched common ground but did not resolve the conscription dispute.
The difficulty extends beyond Liberman. Naftali Bennett has refrained from publicly committing to a framework involving compromises with the haredi parties, and his party stressed that his silence should not be read as consent, recalling his commitment to a "revolution of those who serve." Yair Golan, meanwhile, reported progress in talks between the negotiating teams of the Democrats and Yashar. Even if the Zionist parties reach understandings, the haredi parties would still need to accept a conscription arrangement and the secular partners to support it.
Alongside the coalition effort, the change bloc plans to assert its power in the Knesset immediately after its swearing-in on Tuesday, starting with an attempt to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. Liberman prefers Yair Lapid for the role, though no candidate has been agreed upon. The bloc is also weighing special committees, a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, and repealing laws advanced by Netanyahu's coalition. A vote to oust Ohana on swearing-in day is not guaranteed, and even success would not by itself produce a government, but it would let the bloc shape the parliamentary agenda. If Eisenkot fails, Liberman views himself as a suitable and experienced candidate for the next attempt, though the mandate would not pass to him automatically. For now, Eisenkot is expected to receive the mandate on Sunday and must then turn 67 recommendations into agreements among parties that have yet to decide what kind of government they are prepared to build.
