Israel’s Eisenkot gets 67 lawmakers behind him, Herzog to decide on Nov 8

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will announce on Sunday (November 8) which lawmaker he will nominate to form the next government, after Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured more recommendations than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During consultations with political parties on Thursday, 67 lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset backed Eisenkot, while 46 recommended Netanyahu. The remaining seven did not endorse either candidate, AFP reported.

Despite receiving more recommendations, Eisenkot faces hurdles in assembling a coalition with a parliamentary majority. Support from Arab-led parties has improved his prospects, but differences among Opposition groups could complicate efforts to form a government.

Herzog weighs coalition prospects

Herzog said his decision would be based on his assessment of which candidate stood the best chance of successfully forming a government.

“The results of the consultations may appear clear, but the authority vested in me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear, given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves,” he said on Thursday. “I will try to determine this directly and quickly, in personal talks with some of the party leaders.”

The Joint List, which has 11 seats, and the eight-member Ra'am party both threw their weight behind Eisenkot during their meetings with Herzog. The two parties announced their recommendations on Thursday, AFP reported. This took Eisenkot's tally to 67, crossing the 61-seat mark required for a majority in the Knesset.

However, the recommendations do not necessarily mean that all 19 Arab lawmakers will become part of an Eisenkot-led government. The Opposition remains split over whether Arab parties should be included in a future coalition.

Allies divided over Arab backing

Avigdor Liberman, who heads Yisrael Beiteinu, has repeatedly ruled out supporting a government reliant on Arab-party backing. He has accused Arab lawmakers of failing to explicitly call Hamas a terrorist organisation, though Arab parties have condemned its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Netanyahu suffered another setback after United Torah Judaism refused to recommend him to Herzog. The ultra-Orthodox party, which has seven seats, also withheld its support from Eisenkot.

A key point of contention is the exemption from military service granted to ultra-Orthodox religious students. Netanyahu has continued to uphold the exemption but has failed to pass legislation to make it permanent. The issue has become increasingly contentious as Israeli reservists remain deployed in the wars involving Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

United Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said securing the status of Torah students would be among the party's foremost demands of the next government. “In whatever government is next formed, our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students,” he said.