Israel’s Prime Minister’s Race: Gadi Eisenkot’s Road to Unseat Netanyahu Not Easy — Numbers, Political Obstacles in Forming Next Government | Today’s news

Gadi Eisenkot, a rival of incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been given his first chance to form the country’s next government, days after election results revealed a hung assembly.

The move marked a major step in the former military commander’s bid to oust Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu.

However, it is a long way before Eisenkot actually becomes the prime minister of Israel.

Here’s what to expect after President Isaac Herzog formally gave Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form Israel’s next governing coalition:

The announcement does not guarantee that Eisenkot will become the next prime minister.

Eisenkot’s nomination was expected after 67 of the 120 members of the incoming Knesset asked President Isaac Herzog to give him a chance.

Now, the leader of the centrist Yashar Party has up to six weeks to form a coalition government by securing alliances, a daunting challenge since the Oct. 27 election did not give his bloc or Netanyahu a clear majority in parliament, the AP reported.

Related to this is another obstacle: complex coalition negotiations.

Herzog said that in consultations with the parties, a majority of members of the parliament, known as the Knesset, supported giving Eisenkot the task.

Possible kingmakers – and the most politically charged potential allies – include Arab-led parties. In the elections, they achieved a historic gain due to the high turnout among the Arab citizens of Israel.

Only one Arab party, Ra’am, entered the governing coalition in 2021. Ra’am said it would support Eisenkot, but the party alone does not have enough seats to give Eisenkot a parliamentary majority.

A second Arab-led party, the Joint List, broke decades of precedent and offered support to Eisenkot from outside the coalition to end Netanyahu’s power.

But according to the report, this collaboration is challenging for both parties:

For the Joint List, this would mean supporting a government that is unlikely to end Israel’s wars or limit settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

For Eisenkot and other opposition parties, this would mean aligning themselves with parties that not only criticize Israel’s policies but reject its identity as a Jewish state, the AP added.

One of Eisenkot’s partners, the more conservative Yisrael Beytenu party, has already said it will not join a coalition with Arab-led parties.

Eisenkot’s four conditions

Eisenkot set four conditions for parties wishing to join him:

1. They must recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

2. Accept its declaration of independence

3. To encourage military, national or civil service for all citizens

4. Declare the militant group Hamas as a terrorist group.

It remains unclear whether his eventual Arab partners are ready to accept these terms.

In addition, Netanyahu has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the election was “stolen” by Arab parties. In a pressure tactic on Eisenkot, he says that any alliance with these parties would be an act of treason.

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has launched an investigation into possible foreign meddling in the vote, but the country’s central election committee — and Herzog — say the vote was valid and, if irregularities are found, did not have a significant impact on the election results.

Eisenkot faces significant challenges on his way to becoming prime minister

Eisenkot promised to form a government as quickly as possible. But every likely scenario seems to imply compromises or broken promises.

Aside from seeking the support of Arab-led parties, Eisenkot has two options: a power-sharing deal with Netanyahu or a deal with ultra-Orthodox parties that demand military exemptions for their community.

Eisenkot and his partners made equal military service a central part of their campaign. Specifically, they seek to end long-standing exemption proposals.

Religious parties that were part of Netanyahu’s outgoing coalition want to keep them, calling them essential to their pious lifestyle. However, the exemptions became particularly controversial among the wider public during the last three years of the war.

The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party foresees its position as a swing vote and has left the door open to working with Eisenkot.

Eisenkot has 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible two-week extension from the president. If he fails to form a government, Netanyahu could then be given a chance to form a coalition. If even Netanyahu can’t do it, the country would go back to the polls early next spring.

Israel’s new Knesset members will be sworn in on Tuesday evening. Netanyahu and his cabinet will remain in office in an interim capacity with limited powers until a coalition is formed.

Big challenges for the next Israeli government

Despite a tenuous truce, Israel’s military remains engaged in a battle with Hamas militants in Gaza and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon — and the war it launched with the United States against Iran also remains unresolved.

Both Eisenkot and Herzog mentioned those challenges on Sunday, as well as what Herzog called “the new political situation in the United States,” where the midterm elections signaled a weakening of support for Israel on both sides of the aisle.

Asked if Eisenkot would get the first chance at forming a new government in Israel, US President Donald Trump said Netanyahu and Eisenkot are similar in terms of politics and their views.

“And I think he’s said very nice things about me. He says he loves Trump, but I don’t know. I haven’t seen what’s going on. But it’s definitely a competition between him and Bibi Netanyahu. And we’ll see what happens. … They have very similar views. They’re both strong in what I do.”

Trump was answering questions from reporters Sunday night in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Herzog urged Eisenkot to use his military leadership skills — as well as his experience of loss, as Eisenkot lost a son fighting in Gaza — to unify the country.

“You commanded soldiers from all parts of the Israeli people and Israeli society. Your face bears bullet scars from decades of command and combat,” Herzog said. “In the coming days, Gadi, when you and your counterparts enter the meeting rooms, I ask that you remember that the eyes of the entire nation are upon you, with all its pain, hopes, prayers, and fears.”