Herzog to task Eisenkot with forming Israeli government, mandate due Sunday

Herzog picks Eisenkot

Israeli President Isaac Herzog informed Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, on Saturday evening, 7 November, that he intends to give him the mandate to form the next government. Herzog invited Eisenkot to the presidential residence, where the formal handover is scheduled for 17:00 on Sunday, 8 November. Herzog's office said in a statement that Eisenkot would be nominated, and Israeli media reported the decision the same evening. Eisenkot, who is 66 according to Bloomberg, is a former army chief and the sharpest challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader. Netanyahu, now the outgoing prime minister, is fighting to remain in office after his religious-right coalition lost its majority in the election held on 27 October.

Consultations in the Knesset

During the consultations, parties representing 67 Knesset members recommended Eisenkot for the mandate. Parties representing 46 members recommended Netanyahu, whose Likud emerged as the largest single faction in the October vote. A group of seven members chose not to recommend any candidate.

Gadi Eisenkot67

Benjamin Netanyahu46

No candidate recommended7

Gadi Eisenkot

67 Knesset members

Benjamin Netanyahu

46 Knesset members

No candidate recommended

7 Knesset members

Data from the article text

The mandate decision follows those consultations, which Herzog held before naming Eisenkot.

Yashar's offer to Likud

Yashar invited members of Likud, Netanyahu's party, to join the next government. In a post on X, the party said Likud and its allies would be welcome if they publicly broke with extremists and accepted Yashar's four principles. Those principles include recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and committing to destroy its military and governing power. Yashar also said the emergency national government it would form would include only Knesset members who back those four principles. The party accused Netanyahu of dividing Israeli society and of acting systematically against unity, even during what it called the hardest war in the country's history.

Netanyahu's video message

Before Yashar's post, Netanyahu released a video message calling for a government of national unity. In it he argued that a government led by Eisenkot, with the support of Arab parties, would not fight Hamas. AGI reported that Netanyahu's opponents were growing more optimistic about removing him from office. The articles do not report a response from Likud to Yashar's invitation.

What comes next

Herzog is set to formally confer the mandate at 17:00 on Sunday, 8 November. The timeline below marks the main steps so far.

Whether Eisenkot can assemble a coalition is not yet known from the reporting.