Israel's President Tasks Gadi Eisenkot With Forming Government After Deadlocked Election

Israel's president has asked former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to attempt to form a new government, following an election on October 27 that left neither the prime minister's bloc nor its rivals with a clear majority in parliament. President Isaac Herzog's office said Eisenkot would be formally tasked with forming the government at a ceremony on Sunday.

Eisenkot, 66, heads the Yashar party, which became the second-largest faction in the 120-seat Knesset with 21 seats. His nomination came after he received the largest number of endorsements from party leaders, including two Arab-majority parties with an unprecedented 19 seats combined, whose leaders backed him over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite his refusal to partner with them directly.

Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats of any single party with 27, but his broader religious-nationalist coalition secured only 53 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Eisenkot's coalition of four center-left to right-wing Jewish-led parties won 48 seats.

Under Israeli law, Eisenkot now has 28 days to assemble a governing coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. Analysts say his options — a minority government relying on Arab party support for key votes, a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties his bloc has previously avoided, or a unity arrangement with Netanyahu — all face significant obstacles. If he fails, another candidate may be given a chance, and the process has an overall deadline of roughly 100 days before a fresh election would be triggered.

In a post on X, Eisenkot said the time had come to form a national emergency government, adding that he would do everything possible to ensure the effort succeeds. A son of Moroccan immigrants, he would be Israel's first prime minister from the Mizrahi community, whose roots trace to the Middle East and North Africa.

The outcome of the coalition talks will be watched closely abroad, given Israel's role in regional security and its ongoing conflicts. For now, the country faces weeks of negotiations before any new government takes shape.