The President Of Israel Has Tasked Gadi Eizenkot With Forming A New Government

• 8.11.2026, 17:41

The ceremony to present the mandate will take place today.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that he will ask the country’s former Chief of Staff and leader of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eizenkot, to form a new government. On November 8, the politician will visit the president’s residence to accept the official mandate.

The Office of the President of Israel reported that 67 of the 120 Knesset members recommended entrusting the formation of the government to the leader of the “Yashar!” party Gadi Eizenkot, to form a government. Another 46 members proposed granting this right to the incumbent prime minister and leader of Israel’s Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The time has come to form a national emergency government. I will do everything to ensure that we prove ourselves worthy,” — Eizenkot stated on X.

Eizenkot was supported not only by his bloc, consisting of 48 lawmakers, but also by the Arab parties, which hold 19 seats in the Knesset. Netanyahu’s bloc, meanwhile, consisted of 53 lawmakers, but the prime minister received seven fewer votes because the ultra-Orthodox party “Yahadut HaTorah” abstained from the vote, declared the election “stolen,” and called for the formation of a “government of national emergency.”

Eizenkot now has 28 days to form a new government and secure the Knesset’s approval of his cabinet nominees. If he needs more time, the president will extend this deadline by another 14 days.