Israel's president asks Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's rival, to form new government
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president → ask → government
Recent election left neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu with clear path to power
Israel's president on Saturday chose Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest rival, to try to form a new government following a deadlocked election that left neither man with a clear path to power.
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that → leave → power
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is fighting to hold onto office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its majority in an Oct. 27 election but still emerged as the largest bloc in parliament.
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coalition → serve → parliament
An anti-Netanyahu bloc led by Eisenkot, an ex-military chief, has refused to join forces with Arab parties who could hand it a majority of seats in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
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who → lead → parliament
But Arab leaders, incensed by what they view as the racist policies of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, still nominated Eisenkot to try to form a government first — giving him the most endorsements.
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they → incense → endorsements
"President Herzog has invited Gadi Eisenkot to the President’s Residence, where he will be tasked with forming the government tomorrow," said the spokesperson of Israel President Isaac Herzog, whose largely ceremonial role involves nominating a candidate to form a coalition after elections.
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role → invite → elections
Israel's President Isaac Herzog, right, receives the results of Israel's elections from Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg at the president's residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
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Herzog → receive → Wednesday
Weeks of protracted negotiations are expected to follow Eisenkot's nomination.
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Weeks → expect → nomination
He has 28 days to try to forge a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
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He → have → extension
His potential pathways to power include trying to form a minority government with Arab support from the outside; forming a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties that he and his allies have shunned in the past; or forging a unity government with Netanyahu.
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he → include → Netanyahu
Analysts say that all three options are unlikely to take shape.
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options → say → shape
If Eisenkot fails, another candidate can try to form a government and if that candidate fails, parliament can nominate another.
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parliament → fail → another
If no one succeeds, another election is held.
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election → succeed → ?
An Orthodox Jewish voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Haifa, Israel, on Oct. 27.
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voter → cast → Oct.
"This is the time to establish a national emergency government.
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This → establish → government
I will do anything possible to prove us worthy," Eisenkot posted on his X account just after the president's announcement.
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Eisenkot → do → announcement
Likud won the most seats of any single party with 27 in the 120-seat Knesset, but Netanyahu's wider religious-nationalist coalition garnered only 53 in total, short of a 61-seat majority.
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coalition → win → majority
Eisenkot's Yashar party emerged as the second-largest party with 21 seats, while his coalition, spanning four centre-left to right-wing Jewish-led parties, won just 48 seats.
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coalition → emerge → seats
Two parties representing Israel's Arab minority won an unprecedented 19 seats.
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parties → represent → seats
Political newcomer
A son of Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot, 66, would be the country's first prime minister from Israel's Mizrahi community, Jews who trace their roots to the Middle East and North Africa.
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who → trace → East
Reserved and media-shy, Eisenkot only entered politics in 2022.
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Eisenkot → enter → 2022
He briefly served in Netanyahu's wartime cabinet following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel before returning to the opposition.
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He → serve → opposition
From opposition, he publicly rebuked Netanyahu over his leadership, including his management of the military campaign in Gaza, and has sworn that he would not serve in government with him.
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he → rebuke → him
Eisenkot's public standing is also bound up with the personal price his family has paid since 2023: a son and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.
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son → bind → Gaza
Eisenkot highlighted his security credentials on the campaign trail, citing his "Dahiyeh doctrine" of responding to attacks with disproportionate force, which he deployed as a commander during Israel's 2006 war with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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he → highlight → Lebanon
Eisenkot has criticized settler violence against Palestinians, which has surged since 2023, raising tensions in Israel’s ties with Western states, and he opposes Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have both faced sanctions by some Western countries for inciting violence against Palestinians.
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who → criticize → Palestinians
The Aporia
