Israel’s president has tapped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief political rival, Gadi Eisenkot, to try to form the next government, dealing a setback to Netanyahu after his party won the most seats in last month’s election but failed to secure a parliamentary majority.
Netanyahu’s Likud party won 27 seats, six more than Eisenkot’s Yashar party. Neither secured enough support to command a majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament.
President Isaac Herzog is due to formally give Eisenkot the mandate at 5 p.m. local time Sunday.
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, served as the country’s top military commander from 2015 to 2019. After a career in the military, he joined Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He left the cabinet the following year, accusing Netanyahu of failing to make progress toward ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.
Eisenkot lost his son, Gal, a reservist killed in Gaza, as well as two nephews during the war.
Eisenkot leads the centrist Yashar party, which he founded on a platform of combating corruption and reforming government. He will have 28 days to assemble a coalition, with the possibility of a 14-day extension.
That gives him up to six weeks to negotiate with rival parties and secure the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.
If Eisenkot fails, Herzog can ask another lawmaker to try to form a government. If those efforts also fail, Israel could face another election. Netanyahu would remain caretaker prime minister in the meantime.
