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Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the country’s next government on Sunday, but the parties that recommended him have yet to agree on governing together, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Oct. 27 election left both Eisenkot’s opposition camp and caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc short of a parliamentary majority.
Israeli law allows up to three attempts to form a government before failed negotiations trigger another election. A minority government is also possible if it can win parliament’s confidence.
Why 67 recommendations may not be enough
Eisenkot received 67 recommendations during Herzog’s consultations, compared with 46 for Netanyahu. The recommendations for Eisenkot came from Jewish-led opposition parties holding 48 seats and Arab parties holding 19.
Recommending Eisenkot for the mandate does not commit those parties to joining his government or supporting the coalition he negotiates. Most leaders in his camp reject governing agreements with Arab parties, as does Netanyahu’s bloc, which holds 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Both camps therefore need cooperation from outside their existing alliances to build a majority coalition.
Netanyahu received only 46 recommendations because the seven-seat United Torah Judaism party declined to endorse any candidate amid a dispute over military-service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox seminary students. The central challenge is an agreement among parties willing to govern together, rather than the number of recommendations a candidate received.
Deadlines, minority governments and possible elections
Under Basic Law: The Government, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government. Herzog may grant extensions totalling up to 14 additional days.
If Eisenkot fails, Herzog has three days to decide whether to nominate another lawmaker or refer the process to parliament. A second presidential nominee would have 28 days, with no extension.
If that attempt also fails, or Herzog declines to make a second nomination, the Knesset has 21 days to propose a candidate from among its members. A written request signed by at least 61 lawmakers, together with the candidate’s written consent, requires the president to issue the mandate within two days. That nominee then has 14 days to form a government, with no extension.
The process can involve up to three rounds of government formation. The president may skip the second round and leave lawmakers to make the final nomination.
The requirement for 61 signatures applies to that final nomination stage. For a government’s initial confidence vote, more lawmakers must vote in favour than against. A coalition with fewer than 61 seats could therefore take office with support from parties outside it, or through abstentions that allow it to win the vote.
There is a precedent for governing with outside Arab support. After the Shas party left Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s coalition in 1993, reducing it to 56 seats, his government continued with support from five Arab lawmakers. Such an arrangement would still require political cooperation that key parties currently reject.
If lawmakers cannot agree on a final nominee, or the nominee fails to form a government or win its confidence vote, the Knesset is automatically dissolved and elections must follow within 90 days. Parliament can also end the process sooner by passing a dissolution law. A majority of 61 lawmakers can vote for dissolution even after a minority government takes office.
The parliamentary route has led to different outcomes. In 2019, Netanyahu and then-opposition leader Benny Gantz failed in separate attempts to form governments, and lawmakers’ final opportunity to nominate a candidate ended in another election.
In 2020, the parliamentary stage produced a power-sharing deal between Netanyahu and Gantz. The Knesset was dissolved seven months later after a failure to pass the budget, and Gantz never became prime minister under the promised rotation.
Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until a new government takes office. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister is on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court under a 2024 arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
