JERUSALEM — Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who leads the Yashar party, formally received the mandate to form Israel’s next government from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, November 8. He now has 28 days, until December 6, to assemble a coalition of 61 of the Knesset’s 120 members. On the numbers in front of him, that coalition does not yet exist.
Herzog’s choice followed consultations with the incoming factions. Parties representing 67 members recommended Eisenkot, against 46 who recommended Benjamin Netanyahu, the caretaker prime minister. Seven members recommended neither. Those recommendations are not the same as coalition commitments, and the gap between them is the story of the next four weeks.
In the October 27 election, Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist camp won 53 seats and the broad opposition bloc led by Eisenkot won 48. Neither side reached 61. Much of Eisenkot’s 67 in the recommendation round came from Arab-led parties, which hold 19 seats between them and have made clear they will support him from outside rather than sit in his government. Count only the parties currently prepared to join him, and he starts from 48.
Eisenkot said at the ceremony that he would seek a national emergency government and invited wider cooperation, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Those are statements of intent. No party outside his bloc has yet agreed to join, and the invitations cut in directions that pull against each other: bringing in ultra-Orthodox parties requires concessions on military conscription for religious students, the issue that helped bring down the last government, while depending on Arab parties from outside limits what such a government can do.
One early signal came from Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, who said he was willing to compromise on conscription legislation and to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties. Whether that arithmetic can be made to reach 61, and on what terms, is the negotiation now under way in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister while the talks run, which means Israel’s policy on Gaza, Lebanon and Iran stays in the hands of the government the election did not return, until someone proves they can replace it.
What happens next follows Israel’s Basic Law: The Government. If Eisenkot cannot form a government in 28 days, the president may extend his time by up to 14 more days, to December 20, or hand the mandate to another member. If Eisenkot presents a government and the Knesset votes it down, the process starts again. If every route fails, the Knesset is dissolved and Israel votes again, which would be its second election in a matter of months after five elections between 2019 and 2022.
The first deadline to mark is December 6. Sources: Israel’s presidency announcements; Basic Law: The Government, articles 8 to 11; reporting by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Al Jazeera and Ynetnews.
