Herzog to choose next Israeli prime minister after Eisenkot edges out Netanyahu
The president will announce a candidate on Sunday after 67 lawmakers backed the former military chief in a fragmented parliament.
By Simon Bennett ·
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will name a candidate to form the next government on Sunday, a decision made after a majority of Knesset members endorsed opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog made the announcement on Thursday following extensive consultations with parties elected to the 120-seat parliament. The process revealed a fractured legislature where neither candidate holds a guaranteed path to a stable majority.
According to the results of the consultations, 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, a former military chief, while 46 backed Netanyahu. Despite the numerical advantage for Eisenkot, Herzog noted in televised remarks that mutual vetoes between and within political blocs complicate the formation of a governing coalition.
The October 27 election produced a highly divided parliament. Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats with 27, but his broader religious-nationalist coalition secured only 53 seats in total. Eisenkot’s alliance of four Jewish-led parties, spanning from center-left to right, won 48 seats, outperforming initial polling predictions.
Two parties representing Israel’s Palestinian minority won 19 seats, an increase that shifted the balance of power. Although both Arab-led parties ruled out joining a government with Eisenkot or Netanyahu, they both recommended Eisenkot. This support gives him a comfortable majority among lawmakers, even if those parties do not participate in his cabinet.
Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Joint List, stated that the Arab parties aim to remove the current government. Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, emphasized that his 67 recommendations are the highest number received by any candidate since 2015. The party urged Herzog to grant the mandate quickly to allow for the formation of a national emergency government.
Netanyahu faced a setback on Thursday when United Torah Judaism, a longtime ultra-Orthodox ally, declined to recommend any candidate. The party broke with Netanyahu over his coalition’s failure to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service. Yariv Oppenheimer, a member of the Democrats party within Eisenkot’s alliance, suggested that a favorable offer from Eisenkot could secure United Torah Judaism’s support.
Oppenheimer told Al Jazeera that he saw no reason for Herzog to choose anyone other than Eisenkot. He asserted that Netanyahu has no chance of establishing a government. However, Netanyahu is challenging the results by pointing to an investigation by election officials into possible vote tampering. He has accused Arab-led parties of stealing the vote, a claim critics say is an attempt to undermine the election outcome.
Israel’s Central Election Committee stated on Wednesday that the election’s integrity had not been compromised. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who heads the committee, called on elected officials to protect public trust. He described the peaceful transfer of power as a foundation of democracy and noted that high voter turnout, including among the Arab minority, was positive.
The nominated candidate will have 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension. Netanyahu will remain in a caretaker capacity until a new coalition is formed or a new election is called. Far-right allies of Netanyahu, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for the immediate arrest and interrogation of Arab party leaders.
