"No Netanyahu": Israel Opposition Picks Gadi Eisenkot To Form Next Government

Israel's opposition has rallied behind former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, as its prime ministerial candidate, a decisive move to end Benjamin Netanyahu's long hold on power after an inconclusive election.

Leaders of the anti-Netanyahu bloc met in Herzliya and agreed to recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog as their first choice to form Israel's 38th government. They also settled on a joint action plan for the newly elected 26th Knesset.

It is the strongest sign yet that the opposition wants to turn its improved performance at the ballot box into a governing majority.

"A Zionist Government" Built On Four Principles

In a joint statement, the party heads said they would work to replace what they called the "7/10 government" with a "national emergency government". They said it would be a "Zionist" government based on four principles set out by Eisenkot.

The leaders pledged "full commitment" to the decision of Israeli voters, whom they described as having voted "clearly and decisively" for change. 

Negotiating teams from the participating parties will start work immediately on a common policy platform and the broad outlines of a coalition. 

The leaders promised to stay in close contact until a new government takes oath. Their stated priority is speed. They want to form a government quickly and spare Israel yet another election, the latest in a long run of repeat polls.

Numbers Behind The Rush

The October 27 vote produced a hung Knesset. Neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member house.

Netanyahu's Likud was the single largest party with 27 seats. But his allies together won only 53, a steep fall from the 68 his coalition held in the outgoing Knesset.

Opposition parties with a Jewish majority won 48 seats. Arab-led parties won a record 19. Eisenkot's Yashar won 21 seats, the most in the opposition's Jewish-majority camp, which strengthens his claim to lead it.

Bennett, Golan, Pile On Pressure

Opposition leaders have been vocal on social media since the Herzliya meeting.

Yair Golan said he had just come out of a meeting with the heads of the "Change bloc". He described the mood as positive but said the work was "still far from complete". He insisted that the majority "is in our hands" and urged the public to keep demanding that elected officials act on the voters' will.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, whose "Together" party is part of the camp, stressed urgency. He said there was no time to lose and that his entire party would back Eisenkot "with all its might" to form a government as soon as possible.

The Arab Parties' Question

The hardest test for Eisenkot may be the role of Arab parties. The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra'am won eight, giving them 19 seats and considerable leverage.

On paper, adding those 19 seats to the opposition's 48 gives a bloc of 67, comfortably above the 61-seat threshold. In practice, politics is much harder than the arithmetic.

Several Opposition leaders have previously ruled out sitting in a coalition with Arab parties. Avigdor Lieberman, whose Yisrael Beiteinu won seven seats, is among the most resistant. On X, Lieberman said Israel must prevent additional elections. He argued that the new political situation leaves "sufficient room for manoeuvre" to set up a stable government "without Ra'am and the Joint List".

That sets up a clear tension inside the camp. Eisenkot must find the votes he needs without splitting his own bloc.

One possible route is a minority government that relies on outside support of Arab lawmakers, who would back it on key votes without formally joining the coalition. That could get a government off the ground, but it would remain vulnerable to political disputes and parliamentary challenges.

Why Eisenkot

A former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces, Eisenkot brings a security résumé that could help the opposition present itself as a credible alternative on national security, governance and accountability. That matters because the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza loomed over the campaign. 

The opposition has long blamed Netanyahu politically for the security failures that preceded the attack, and his government's record was a central theme.

The bloc is also ideologically wide-ranging, and backing one candidate is not the same as having a coalition. Parties must still agree on ministerial portfolios, policy priorities and security arrangements, and on how to secure the support needed to keep a government alive.

Row Over Election Credibility

The talks are unfolding amid a bitter dispute over the vote's legitimacy. The opposition accuses Netanyahu and Likud of running a campaign to delegitimise the result and discredit the Central Elections Committee. The joint statement called it a "dangerous and outrageous delegitimisation campaign" and vowed to protect the results.

Election authorities have rejected calls to overturn the outcome. 

Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg said the election was properly held and reflects the voters' choice. He added that even proven allegations of foreign interference would not automatically invalidate the vote. The Shin Bet security agency is investigating the interference claims.

What Happens Next

Herzog will receive the certified results on November 4 and then begin consultations with representatives of the parties elected to the 26th Knesset. He will nominate the lawmaker he considers best placed to form a government. That nominee has 28 days to build a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. The new Knesset will be sworn in on November 10.

The outcome is the gravest political challenge Netanyahu has faced in years. His allies lack majority, and the opposition is organising around an alternative. The coming weeks will show whether Israel is on the brink of a change of government or heading into another long deadlock.

For now, the opposition agrees on one thing: it wants Netanyahu out. Whether it can agree on who and what should replace him remains the open question.