Israeli President Isaac Herzog will name on Sunday, November 8, the first candidate to try to form a government after the October 27 election left Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot short of a majority, according to Al Jazeera. The result leaves the Netanyahu coalition and Eisenkot’s opposition bloc competing for the same narrow path to power.
During consultations, 67 of the 120 Knesset members endorsed Eisenkot and 46 endorsed Netanyahu, according to Al Jazeera. No bloc has the 61 seats needed for a majority. Netanyahu’s alliance holds 53 seats, four Jewish-led opposition parties backing Eisenkot hold 48, and Arab-led parties hold 19.
United Torah Judaism declined on Thursday to recommend Netanyahu but did not back Eisenkot, according to The Hindu. Its lawmaker Yaakov Asher welcomed a shift on conscription by Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman. United Torah Judaism and Shas left Netanyahu’s government over the failure to enshrine the ultra-Orthodox military exemption into law, though they did not seek to remove him.
Liberman said on Friday that he would not work with Israeli-Arab lawmakers, but he called for talks with ultra-Orthodox parties on the conscription law, according to The Hindu.
Eisenkot has ruled out a government with Arab-led parties, which the Joint List and Ra’am say they would support from outside or join, according to Al Jazeera. Netanyahu’s Likud called such cooperation “dangerous to Israel.”
The sources differ on the share of seats held by Palestinian citizens of Israel. The Guardian World says more than a quarter of the 67 opposition seats went to Palestinian citizens of Israel. Al Jazeera reports that Arab-led parties won 19 of 120 seats, about 16%. The two figures are not reconciled in the reporting.
The Guardian World reports that Trump pledged on election day to cut $4bn in annual military aid to Israel. Netanyahu’s office called the cut a move “from aid to partnership.” No second outlet or confirmed policy change was found. The Guardian cites comments from a defence official via Channel 12 but does not name the official.
Several points remain unconfirmed. Neither Netanyahu’s office nor Herzog’s office has commented on the coalition arithmetic beyond the sources cited, and Herzog has not publicly committed to either side. It is not yet known whether Shas or United Torah Judaism will formally back Eisenkot. United Torah Judaism says its rabbis will assess any formal proposal. No response from Eisenkot’s camp to Liberman’s position was reported.
The nominee will have 28 days, extendable by 14, to form a coalition. If that fails, a second nominee gets 28 days, and a third gets a final 14. After that, the Knesset is dissolved and a new election must be held within 90 days. Eisenkot’s path depends on ultra-Orthodox support and on Arab-led parties’ backing from outside the government.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.