Eisenkot open to Netanyahu joining next Israeli government | Israel Elections 2026 News

The Israeli president officially tasks the opposition leader with forming a new government.

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, the man officially charged by President Isaac Herzog with trying to form the country’s next government, has said he is open to including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his coalition.

In a speech at the ceremony at Herzog’s Jerusalem office on Sunday, Eisenkot suggested that Netanyahu’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, was also welcome.

“If members of Likud and the Religious Zionist Party truly believe that now is the time for unity, as they told the president, I cannot conceive of any reason why they would not support a government under my leadership and the principles I have presented,” Eisenkot said.

Eisenkot, who has presented himself as Netanyahu’s main rival, has six weeks to form a new government. During the ceremony, Eisenkot said he would act in the public interest and represent all segments of Israeli society.

Herzog, meanwhile, warned that the country faces uncertainties after the November 3 midterm elections in the United States, which brought victories to several political figures critical of Israel and American military support.

“The State of Israel needs a stable government,” Herzog said, highlighting the “new political reality” in the United States.

Eisenkot led the Israeli military from 2015 to 2019 and served as an observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet during the first eight months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023.

Despite this, Arab parties supported Eisenkot for the mandate to replace Netanyahu.

In Israel’s October 27 election, Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 seats, while Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc took 53, leaving them short of the 61 needed to secure a parliamentary majority. Arab parties, representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, won a record 19 seats.

Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with Arab parties, which would give him a bloc of 67 seats. Winning both ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would give it exactly 61 seats.

He could also form a government with fewer than 61 seats if he wins the parliamentary vote of confidence.

“Netanyahu still has time to derail Gadi Eisenkot’s efforts to form a government and sabotage attempts to secure a vote of confidence,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“In the meantime, he remains caretaker prime minister. If Eisenkot fails, Netanyahu will be the natural second in charge of forming a government. And if he fails, then elections will be called, allowing Netanyahu to remain caretaker prime minister.

“Many of Netanyahu’s critics say that is his goal. The big question in current Israeli politics is: Does the opposition really want to get rid of Netanyahu? Or is the opposition to Palestinian Israelis in mainstream politics so strong that they are willing to risk keeping Netanyahu in power by returning to the polls?”