Eisenkot emerges as frontrunner likely to form new Israeli govt

A mandate is President Isaac Herzog’s formal request that a politician try to assemble a government. The politician must negotiate enough parliamentary support to govern. Receiving the mandate does not itself make that person prime minister. It starts the process of coalition formation after an election that produced no clear majority.

The mandate traditionally goes to the politician recommended by the most parties during the president’s consultations. In this election, Gadi Eisenkot became the likely recipient because more parties appeared ready to recommend him than Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog still has the final authority to choose whom to task.

The designated politician has 28 days to form a government. Herzog can grant a further 14 days. If the effort fails, Herzog tasks another lawmaker. That process matters because Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats and Eisenkot’s holds 48, so neither reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority alone.

United Torah Judaism’s neutrality mattered because the president weighs party recommendations when choosing whom to task with forming a government. The party had backed Netanyahu in the previous five elections, so its refusal removed an important recommendation from his side. It did not endorse Eisenkot, but withholding support still made Netanyahu less competitive in the consultation count.

The party told Herzog it would “not recommend any Knesset member to form a government.” It has seven seats and belongs to Netanyahu’s 53-seat bloc, yet it left open the possibility of serving in a Netanyahu government later. Its immediate priority is resolving the status of Torah students, not necessarily choosing a leader immediately.

Eisenkot therefore emerged as the likely frontrunner because the mandate traditionally goes to the politician recommended by more parties. The result is not a final coalition agreement. It is an advantage in the first stage, while both blocs still need partners to reach 61 seats.

The election divided the new Knesset among competing blocs rather than producing a governing majority. Netanyahu’s bloc, including United Torah Judaism, has 53 seats. Eisenkot’s bloc has 48. Arab-majority lists hold 19 seats after gains driven by anger over Netanyahu’s policies.

Because the Knesset has 120 members, a governing coalition needs at least 61 seats to command a majority. That threshold is higher than either major bloc’s total. The figures show why party recommendations and coalition negotiations matter so much after the election.

The 19 Arab-majority seats could become especially important. Eisenkot could potentially use their support, but the article says he has remained unclear about whether he would accept it. Such an arrangement could also endanger backing from other opposition parties, including Avigdor Liberman’s, which shares hawkish views on the Palestinians despite opposing Netanyahu.

Eisenkot’s bloc has 48 seats, so it cannot govern by itself. It would need at least 13 more lawmakers to reach the 61-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset. That means building a coalition from other opposition parties, Arab-majority lists, or both. The negotiations would involve policy compromises as well as agreements over ministerial roles.

Arab-majority lists could provide enough numbers. Mansour Abbas’s Raam list recommended Eisenkot, although Eisenkot has not clearly said whether he would accept Arab support. He would also need to keep other opposition partners, such as Avigdor Liberman, whose party opposes Netanyahu but shares the outgoing government’s hawkish Palestinian views.

Once Herzog gives the mandate, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government. Herzog may allow another 14 days. If Eisenkot still fails, Herzog assigns the task to another lawmaker, presumably giving Netanyahu or another candidate a new opportunity.

Military-service exemptions matter because they divide religious communities from many other Israelis during wartime. Ultra-Orthodox students can avoid service under the longstanding arrangement, while many reservists serve multiple tours. The article links that resentment to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. The issue therefore affects both fairness and the political stability of any coalition.

Netanyahu has preserved the exemption but stopped short of putting it into law. United Torah Judaism and Shas support maintaining it, and both have backed Netanyahu as they seek protections for religious students. United Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said resolving Torah students’ status would be the next government’s immediate priority.

Eisenkot has been adamant about ending the exemptions. That position may attract secular voters and opposition partners, but it makes negotiations with ultra-Orthodox parties harder. Any coalition must decide whether to preserve, change, or end the arrangement while managing public anger and military demands.

Support from Arab-majority parties could give Eisenkot the extra lawmakers his 48-seat bloc needs for a majority. Their lists won 19 seats, and Mansour Abbas’s Raam list recommended Eisenkot. Their backing could therefore transform a minority opposition bloc into a workable parliamentary coalition, at least numerically.

The mechanism is coalition arithmetic. Eisenkot needs at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, meaning 13 beyond his bloc. Arab lawmakers could provide those votes through a coalition agreement or outside support. However, Eisenkot has remained unclear about whether he would accept Arab support, so the arrangement is not settled.

The political cost could be high. Avigdor Liberman strongly criticizes Netanyahu but shares the outgoing government’s hawkish views on Palestinians. He could reject a government dependent on Arab parties, causing other opposition support to disappear. Eisenkot would then face both ideological and numerical problems.

In a proportional parliamentary system, parties receive Knesset seats according to their share of the vote rather than one party automatically taking all governing power. Israel’s 120-seat Knesset can therefore contain many parties with different priorities. A single party or bloc may win the most seats but still fall short of the 61 needed for a majority.

This election illustrates the mechanism. Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 seats and Eisenkot’s has 48, while Arab-majority lists hold 19. Neither major bloc can govern alone. Parties must decide whom to recommend, what policies to demand, and whether to join a coalition or support it from outside.

Herzog’s consultations begin that bargaining process. The mandate traditionally goes to the politician recommended by more parties, not automatically to the largest bloc. The designated lawmaker then has 28 days, possibly extended by 14, to turn separate party preferences into a functioning government.