Gadi Eisenkot has the mandate to form Israel’s next government. President Isaac Herzog picked him over Benjamin Netanyahu after 67 lawmakers backed the former army chief. The hard part starts now: Eisenkot must turn those 67 recommendations into a working majority.
Updated: 8 November 2026, 10:15 AM IST
Quick Read
- President Isaac Herzog tasked Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar party) with forming Israel’s next government; the mandate is formally handed over on Sunday, 8 November.
- Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to win 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. 67 lawmakers backed him; 46 backed Netanyahu.
- The catch: his 67 includes 19 Arab-party lawmakers, yet Eisenkot has said he will not form a government with the Arab parties.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has tasked Gadi Eisenkot with forming the country’s next government, passing over Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog told Eisenkot of his decision on Saturday evening and will formally hand him the mandate at a ceremony on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported on 7 November. Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party and a former military chief of staff, will have 28 days — with a possible 14-day extension — to build a coalition of at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
The new Knesset is due to be sworn in on Tuesday, 10 November. Neither side won a majority in the general election on 27 October, the first election since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks. Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc won 53 seats. Eisenkot’s opposition alliance won 48. The two Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats — and that is where the maths gets strange.
The catch with the Arab parties
Eisenkot got the mandate because of the Arab parties. During consultations with Herzog this week, 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot and only 46 backed Netanyahu. The 67 includes the Joint List’s 11 seats and Ra’am’s 8 seats. Without them, Eisenkot’s bloc has only 48.
But Eisenkot has repeatedly said he does not intend to form a government with the Arab parties. During the campaign he set four conditions for joining his government: a commitment to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and to the values of the Declaration of Independence, mandatory military or national service, and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. In late September he told Channel 12 News the Arab parties did not meet his conditions, and he repeated the four conditions on 31 October.
So the parties that gave him the mandate are the parties he has ruled out as partners. That is the catch.
What did the Arab parties actually offer? The Joint List formally endorsed his candidacy on Thursday, 5 November, in the hope of improving life for all citizens, particularly Arabs. Ra’am had said earlier it would back him. But a recommendation is not a promise to vote for a government. The Joint List has said it would extend outside support to a minority government, conditional on protections for Israel’s Arab communities. Ra’am is willing to join a coalition. Joint List lawmaker Ahmad Tibi told Herzog his party would support a minority government from the outside — but would not give it a safety net only to bring it down within months.
Eisenkot has three roads to 61 seats: a minority government backed from outside by the Arab parties; a deal with the two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, for exactly 61; or a national unity government with Netanyahu — which he has ruled out, saying he will “not sit under Netanyahu, not even in a rotation”.
Netanyahu fights for survival
Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and this is the weakest position of his career. His bloc fell eight seats short of a majority. His allies in the ultra-Orthodox parties declined to endorse either candidate in the consultations, which left him stranded at 46 recommendations.
That does not mean he is finished. If Eisenkot fails in 28 days, the mandate can pass to someone else — and Netanyahu will be waiting.
What it means for India
India is watching closely, and the stakes are real. In February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel and the two countries raised their ties to a “Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation and Prosperity”. They signed almost 17 agreements, covering defence, trade, technology, agriculture and workers.
Defence is India’s biggest stake. Israel is one of India’s most important arms and technology suppliers. India has been Israel’s largest arms buyer, taking nearly 34% of its defence exports between 2020 and 2024, according to a Firstpost explainer on the election. India’s Defence Acquisition Council has approved a package worth around $8.7 billion (about Rs 78,217 crore) covering SPICE-1000 bombs, Rampage air-to-surface missiles, Air LORA ballistic missiles and the Ice Breaker missile system. A November 2025 defence agreement frames the partnership around co-development, co-production, cyber defence and AI security.
Trade is the second stake. Bilateral merchandise trade was more than $3.5 billion in 2024–25, and one report puts it at $3.93 billion in fiscal 2025–26. The two sides signed the terms of reference for free trade talks in November 2025, and the second round finished in July. No final deal is signed yet.
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The third stake is people. More than 42,000 Indians live and work in Israel — in construction, farming, care work, diamonds, technology and studies. During Modi’s February visit, the two countries agreed to bring in up to 50,000 more Indian workers over the next five years.
Will a change of government hurt these ties? The signs say no, or not much. Israel’s embassy in India has said the relationship will not change, “even slightly”, no matter who is chosen. A former Indian diplomat told Mint the result is unlikely to have a major impact on ties, because the partnership runs deeper than one leader.
The road to a government — timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 25–26 Feb 2026 | Modi visits Israel; ties raised to Special Strategic Partnership |
| 27 Oct 2026 | General election; no side wins a majority (53–48–19) |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Joint List formally backs Eisenkot; Ra’am already behind him |
| 7 Nov 2026 | President Herzog picks Eisenkot over Netanyahu |
| 8 Nov 2026 | Mandate formally handed over; 28-day clock starts |
| 10 Nov 2026 | New Knesset sworn in |
This timeline is compiled by this desk from Al Jazeera, The Indian Express and Firstpost reporting. The next date that matters is the end of the 28 days: if Eisenkot cannot reach 61 seats, the mandate moves on.
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FAQ
Q: Who is Gadi Eisenkot?
A: A former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces who leads the centrist Yashar party, which he formed last year. He is Netanyahu’s main rival and now has the mandate to try to form Israel’s next government.
Q: Why is forming a government so hard for Eisenkot?
A: His 67 recommendations include 19 Arab-party lawmakers, but he has ruled out forming a government with the Arab parties. His other routes — the ultra-Orthodox parties for exactly 61 seats, or a minority government with outside Arab support — both carry a political price.
Q: Does the Israel government change affect India?
A: Not much is expected to change. Defence deals, the free trade talks and the 50,000-worker quota are all agreed on paper, and Israel’s embassy in India says ties will not change “even slightly” whoever leads the next government.
Sources
- Al Jazeera — “Israel’s president picks Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form next government” (7 Nov 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/7/israels-president-picks-eisenkot-over-netanyahu-to-form-next-government?traffic_source=rss
- The Indian Express — “Israel Government Formation 2026: Can Gadi Eisenkot Oust Netanyahu? 3 Possible Scenarios Explained” (6 Nov 2026): https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/israel-government-formation-gadi-eisenkot-netanyahu-coalition-scenarios-10953119/
- The Indian Express — “Israel Election: Isaac Herzog Taps Gadi Eisenkot to Form Government” (8 Nov 2026): https://indianexpress.com/article/world/israel-elections-isaac-herzog-appoints-gadi-eisenkot-government-formation-netanyahu-coalition-10955082/
- Firstpost — “Defence, trade, Iran: Why India is watching the Israel elections closely” (27 Oct 2026, India-angle facts: 34% of Israel’s defence exports, $8.7bn package, 50,000-worker quota, embassy quote): https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/india-watching-israel-election-2026-explained-14055707.html
Sasanka Sekhar Pradhan is the founder of India Presents, an India-focused news site. He covers daily box-office trackers, India news, economy explainers, sports previews and festival guides — in simple English, so readers across India can follow fast-moving stories without jargon. His focus is what a story means for the reader: the number that matters, the source behind it, and what happens next. India Presents publishes daily, with day-trackers updated as new figures come in.
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