Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed a unity government under his leadership, repeating the call on Monday as Gadi Eisenkot received the mandate to form Israel next government. The proposal, made after President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot on Sunday, would keep Netanyahu in office at the head of a broad coalition, and Eisenkot party has already rejected it.
Why it matters
The numbers explain the move. Netanyahu Likud won 27 seats, the largest tally for any party, while his right wing and religious nationalist bloc secured 53 seats, eight short of a majority. He received recommendations from only 46 lawmakers, against 67 for Eisenkot, and the gap is why he needs a unity deal rather than a coalition of his own.
The proposal is specific about who belongs. Netanyahu said the government should include the ultra Orthodox parties and all other Zionist parties, a formula that excludes the Arab led parties whose recommendations lifted Eisenkot to 67. The two Arab led parties, the Joint List and Raam, won 11 and eight seats, and their support is the fault line in the negotiations. United Torah Judaism seven lawmakers endorsed neither candidate, and their silence is part of why the arithmetic is so tight.
What happens next
Eisenkot has answered with a different vision. He has called for a national emergency government, vowed a creative and unconventional path, and pledged not to serve in a Netanyahu government. He has appealed directly to members of Likud, though not to Netanyahu himself, and to the far right Religious Zionism party, in a bid to build a majority without the incumbent. Eisenkot has pledged not to serve in a Netanyahu government, and Netanyahu has not indicated that he is willing to step aside for Eisenkot to be prime minister.
What happens next will be decided in the talks that open this week. Eisenkot has 28 days, until December 6, with a possible 14 day extension, and the Knesset is sworn in on Tuesday. If he fails, Herzog has three days to decide whether to assign the task to someone else. For now, Netanyahu unity call is a reminder that the incumbent is not beaten yet.
