Eisenkot Wins Mandate With 67 Seats, Leaving Netanyahu With 46
The Knesset member count favors the Yashar leader, but only 48 lawmakers are ready to form a working majority.
By Samuel Hayes ·
President Isaac Herzog will give Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a government after 67 Knesset members recommended his name over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received 46 recommendations on Thursday. This margin gives Eisenkot a procedural advantage in the race to build a coalition.
The outcome was decided by two key shifts in the mid-afternoon. United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox party, declined to recommend Netanyahu and signaled a willingness to switch sides for the right price. Later, the Joint List announced it would support Eisenkot, a move that surprised observers who previously thought the party might abstain.
Analysts had predicted a tighter race before these final announcements. They estimated Netanyahu would secure 53 recommendations compared to Eisenkot’s 56. That close margin suggested a potential deadlock that might have pushed the president toward demanding a unity deal with Netanyahu.
Instead, the final count gave Eisenkot a clear lead. Yashar Member of Knesset Shaul Meridor used the moment to tell the president that the public had told the October 7 government, “Go home.”
The raw numbers, however, do not guarantee a stable government. Of the 67 MKs who recommended Eisenkot, only 48 are prepared to ally without caveats. This is five fewer than the bloc supporting Netanyahu, which includes United Torah Judaism. Neither the Joint List nor United Torah Judaism has confirmed they will actually vote in confidence for an Eisenkot-led cabinet.
Eisenkot now faces the task of expanding that core group of 48 supporters before his mandate expires in a few weeks. He must convince Yisrael Beytenu to accept a coalition reliant on Arab parties, a scenario leader Avigdor Liberman has ruled out. He also needs to meet the military draft demands of United Torah Judaism, a position that conflicts with most of his current allies. Netanyahu, meanwhile, retains the option to leverage the reliance on Arab support to challenge any resulting minority government.
The next step is for Eisenkot to begin formal coalition talks. The president will allow a limited number of weeks for this process before potentially calling for new elections if no stable majority emerges.
