Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has given opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form the country’s next government, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc unable to command a parliamentary majority. Herzog awarded the mandate on Sunday, 8 November 2026, at 5pm local time, having accepted the election results.
Eisenkot, a former military chief, now has 28 days to assemble support from 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament. A possible 14-day extension would give him more time, but the mandate is an opportunity to negotiate, not confirmation that he will become prime minister.
Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest party with 27 seats, compared with 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar and 12 for Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad. Yet Netanyahu’s wider bloc holds only 53 seats, while the opposition bloc has 48. Arab parties account for the remaining 19 seats and could play a decisive role in determining whether a government can be formed.
A majority still to build
The result illustrates the distinction between winning the most seats and securing the support needed to govern. Israel’s parliamentary system requires negotiations between parties when no grouping commands a majority. Likud’s lead over Yashar therefore does not, on its own, settle who can put together the next administration.
Eisenkot must find support beyond the opposition bloc’s current total. The Arab parties’ seats make them important to that calculation, although their numerical strength does not establish how they will approach the negotiations or whether they will support any proposed government. The composition of a governing arrangement remains unresolved.
Another possible route involves the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, parties. Likud officials privately concede that those parties may join Eisenkot if they secure an acceptable arrangement on military conscription. That remains a conditional possibility rather than an agreement, and no completed arrangement has been announced in the details available.
The draft question concerns military service for the ultra-Orthodox community, an issue that can influence relations between religious parties and their potential coalition partners. Its place in these negotiations shows why the parliamentary totals are a starting point: a majority also depends on parties accepting the terms on which they would govern together.
Netanyahu stays in office
Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister while the process unfolds. He has called on all Zionist opposition parties to join a unified government. That appeal offers a different approach to coalition-building, but it does not alter the fact that Herzog has given Eisenkot the initial mandate to negotiate.
The decision moves the immediate focus of Israeli politics away from Netanyahu and towards whether his opponents can assemble a workable majority. It does not remove him from office or guarantee an opposition government. The distinction matters during a period when negotiating positions and possible partnerships remain fluid.
The outcome has international significance because the next government’s composition will bear directly on the Gaza ceasefire, operations in Lebanon and policy towards Iran. Those issues make the coalition talks more than a contest over domestic office, although the mandate itself establishes no new policy or operational decision.
For readers in Britain, the central question is who will eventually hold authority to shape Israel’s approach to those regional issues. Until a government is formed, Netanyahu continues in a caretaker role and Eisenkot’s task remains securing parliamentary backing rather than exercising the powers of prime minister.
Parliament prepares to convene
The 26th Knesset is due to be sworn in on 10 November, with 47 first-time members. Eisenkot is seeking to unseat Speaker Amir Ohana on inauguration day, adding a parliamentary leadership contest to the negotiations over who will form the government.
Final turnout was 77.7 per cent, an increase of 7.1 percentage points from 2022. The election has produced a parliament in which neither of the main blocs has the seats needed to govern without additional support, making the coming negotiations central to translating the result into an administration.
Eisenkot now faces his deadline to reach 61 seats. If he fails, Herzog can turn to another lawmaker, and a further election remains possible. The next steps will depend on whether the parties can agree on both parliamentary support and the terms of government.
