• Herzog officially tasks him with new govt formation; says Israel must face ‘new political reality’ after US election
• Ex-military chief seeks support from ultra-Orthodox parties; may initially form a minority govt with outside support from Arab-Israeli parties
JERUSALEM: Israel’s former military chief Gadi Eisenkot started the tough task on Sunday of forming a government, reaching out to Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies as he warned the veteran prime minister had brought the country to a historic crisis.
Eisenkot, 66, a political novice who has vowed to bridge Israel’s deep polarisation under Netanyahu, formally received a mandate from President Isaac Herzog, giving him 28 days to form a government despite his bloc lacking a clear majority.
President Herzog earlier warned that the country faced “uncertainties” after elections in the United States. “Israel must face ‘new political reality’ after US election,” he said.
In the United States, the most vital ally of Israel, Democrats on Tuesday swept elections with calls to rein in Israel after the devastation in Gaza and the unpopular Iran war which Netanyahu launched with President Donald Trump.
Both Herzog and Eisenkot acknowledged Israel’s growing isolation under Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges.
Eisenkot, who had traded his usual all black for a suit and tie, at a ceremony at the presidential office admitted, “We are in a state of emergency, approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel. We must form a national emergency government. This will require creative and unconventional political steps.”
Born to a family of working-class Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot would be the first Sephardic prime minister — a community mostly descended from Middle Eastern or North African Jews — in a country long dominated by an Ashkenazi elite with ties to Europe.
“We are in the midst of a devastating diplomatic crisis. Even our closest friends and strategic allies are saying their relationship with Israel must be reassessed,” Eisenkot said.
While inviting Netanyahu’s Likud Party along with far-right party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join, only with himself as prime minister, Eisenkot said, “My door is open and my hand is extended, wholeheartedly and willingly, to anyone who understands the gravity of this moment.”
Wooing the ultra-Orthodox
In consultations with Herzog last week, Eisenkot received recommendations from parties accounting for 67 lawmakers, against 46 for Netanyahu.
But that vote count included Israeli Arabs, whose seat haul surged to a historic high on anger over Netanyahu’s government and whom several parties oppose having in government.
Avigdor Liberman, a former Netanyahu aide turned sharp critic who nonetheless shares his hawkish views, has been adamant against any alliance with Arab Israelis, who are descendants of Palestinians
who stayed after Israel’s creation in 1948.
Taking back one of his signature campaign pledges, Liberman instead voiced an openness to an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose almost singular priority is ensuring that they remain exempt from military service.
The exemption for the ultra-Orthodox, whose two main parties had been aligned with Netanyahu but could push Eisenkot to a majority, has been a source of growing resentment for many Israelis as reservists fight on multiple tours of duty.
Liberman said on Sunday he still backed conscription for all Israelis but that he had to make “difficult decisions” for the higher priority of ousting Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges that could land him in jail if he loses power.
Naftali Bennett, the second strongest opposition leader after Liberman, has also been outspoken against the ultra-Orthodox community’s military exemption and has stayed quiet since Liberman’s about-face.
Fragile power
Eisenkot has appeared to suggest he is willing to start off with a minority government — relying on outside votes from Arab-Israeli parties — before bringing other lawmakers into his coalition.
Assaf Shapira, a political expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, said Eisenkot would face an exceptionally fragile government if it only had 48 lawmakers in the 120-member parliament, with extensive negotiations needed on every piece of legislation.
Eisenkot vowed to put an end to rampant violence against Palestinians by extremist West Bank settlers supported by Netanyahu’s government and warned that the incumbent premier did not have the mandate for another attack on Iran.
Interestingly, he has largely backed Netanyahu’s war decisions and as military chief during the 2006 Lebanon war advocated massive force against civilian infrastructure where enemies operate, a policy critics say amounts to a war crime.
In Tel Aviv, Neri Bar-On, who works in educational technology, said he expected Eisenkot to succeed in forming a government. “But the problems run deeper,” he said. “The country is facing a massive internal conflict; even if he manages to form a government, it won’t solve the underlying issues.”
Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2026
