Eisenkot Proposes Minority Emergency Government as Herzog Still Set to Name Mandate Sunday

Update, Nov. 6, 9 AM CT

Gadi Eisenkot proposed a minority emergency government — a proposal, not an agreed coalition (Ynet, Anadolu, Eisenkot on X). Under the plan, the four Change-bloc parties would be sworn in quickly, and any other faction could join later if it accepts four principles:

1. A Jewish and democratic state
2. Values of the Declaration of Independence
3. Service for all
4. Dismantling Hamas

Eisenkot said talks made "significant progress and breakthroughs" and that he hopes to receive the mandate early next week, while President Herzog remains scheduled to announce the mandate on Sunday, Nov. 8. He warned that anyone who sabotages forming a government for personal reasons "will not be forgiven" — a remark widely read as aimed at Avigdor Liberman.

The recommendation tally remains 67 for Eisenkot and 46 for Netanyahu, with UTJ recommending nobody. Only about 48 MKs in Eisenkot's camp are committed to govern together; the 19 Arab-party recommendations are not a coalition commitment. Herzog has not assigned the mandate.

Update, Nov. 6

President Herzog will announce who gets the first mandate on Sunday, Nov. 8, the Times of Israel and Al Jazeera report. The recommendation tally remains 67 for Gadi Eisenkot and 46 for Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog has not assigned the mandate yet.

Important nuance: Recommendations are not a governing coalition. Times of Israel notes that only about 48 MKs in Eisenkot's own camp are actually ready to govern together. The 19 Arab-party MKs recommended him without committing to join a coalition, so a stalemate or another election remains possible even if he gets the first nod. The designee would get 28 days plus a possible 14-day extension.

Jerusalem Post live updates say United Torah Judaism will join coalition talks if a Haredi draft solution emerges. The Channel 12 report that Avigdor Lieberman dropped his Haredi veto — and any Eisenkot-Lieberman rotation talk — remains CONTESTED after Yisrael Beytenu told the Jerusalem Post it was "not aware" and that "nothing has changed."

Update, Nov. 5, 3 PM CT

Consultations with the parties are finished. President Herzog is delaying the formal mandate decision until Sunday, Nov. 8, saying vetoes within and between the blocs leave it unclear who can actually form a government; he said he will keep talking with party leaders over the weekend before assigning anyone (Ynet, i24NEWS on X). The recommendation tally is unchanged at 67 for Eisenkot and 46 for Netanyahu. Herzog has not assigned the mandate. Recommendations are not a coalition.

Contested: Lieberman Haredi-veto report

CONTESTED. Channel 12 political commentator Amit Segal reported that Avigdor Lieberman dropped his veto on sitting with Haredi parties, opening talks between Eisenkot's bloc and United Torah Judaism around a more lenient 2018-style draft law (Amit Segal on X, Jerusalem Post). Talk of an Eisenkot-Lieberman rotation is speculation only. Yisrael Beytenu denied the report to the Jerusalem Post, saying it was "not aware" of any such thing and that "nothing has changed."

Update, Nov. 5, 11 AM CT

Likud and Yashar are scheduled to meet President Herzog tonight, wrapping up the consultation round that began Wednesday (Reuters via StreetInsider, Jerusalem Post). Reuters says Herzog has until Nov. 11 to choose who gets the first chance to form a government.

Backers reported so far (JPost, Reuters):

• Eisenkot: Yisrael Beytenu, the Democrats, Ra'am, the Joint List, and Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad
• Netanyahu: Religious Zionism-Zehut, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit
• UTJ: recommended nobody

The Jerusalem Post says Eisenkot is expected to receive the presidential mandate. Herzog has not assigned it. The reported recommendation tally remains 67 for Eisenkot and 46 for Netanyahu, pending tonight's Likud and Yashar meetings. Recommendations are not a coalition.

Update, Nov. 5, 9 AM CT

The Joint List, an alliance of Arab-led parties with 11 Knesset seats, announced it will recommend Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government (Ynet, Ynet follow-up). Ynet says that brings Eisenkot to 67 recommendations against 46 for Benjamin Netanyahu — past the 61-seat majority mark (56 + 11 = 67). Anadolu reports the same figures, citing Ynet. The Joint List said the decision was unanimous and that recommending a prime ministerial candidate was "not a simple decision"; the alliance has rarely recommended any PM candidate.

Herzog has not assigned the mandate. No governing coalition has been agreed. Recommendations are not a coalition. Posts saying Herzog could task Eisenkot as soon as this evening remain unconfirmed.

Update, Nov. 5

On day two of President Herzog's consultations, Ra'am, Yair Golan's Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu recommended Gadi Eisenkot. United Torah Judaism — Netanyahu's partner after the last five elections — recommended nobody (Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, RTE). The Times of Israel now tallies 56 recommendations for Eisenkot and 46 for Netanyahu. That supersedes yesterday's mid-consultation 56-to-53 ToI count: UTJ's seven seats left Netanyahu's recommendation total without them. Likud, Yashar, B'Yachad and the Joint List meet Herzog later Thursday. Herzog usually gives the mandate to whoever has the most recommendations, so Eisenkot is expected to get it; the designee has 28 days plus a possible 14-day extension, and failure could mean another election early next year.

Update, Nov. 4, 3 PM CT

The Arab-led Ra'am party said it would recommend Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government (Ynet, Times of Israel). The Times of Israel's mid-consultation tally that afternoon was 56 recommendations for Eisenkot and 53 for Netanyahu, with the Joint List's 11 seats possibly abstaining. Those were outlet tallies, not Herzog's official count. Neither candidate has a 61-seat majority, and the Times of Israel notes Eisenkot pledged before the election not to include Ra'am in his government. (An X post that day also floated 56 to 46; that figure matched ToI's later day-two tally after UTJ abstained — see the Nov. 5 update below.)

In his first video statement since the election, Netanyahu warned that "the one government that certainly will not be able to confront the threat of radical Islam is a government that depends on radical Islam," and accused opposition leaders of working toward "a narrow minority government" (Ynet, Israel National News). He called for a broad national government led by Likud.

Status: Results certified; consultations under way.

Results certified

President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of the Oct. 27 election. The Central Elections Committee says it audited 9,069 polling stations and found no fraud that changed the outcome. AP and Al Jazeera report that the finding undercuts Netanyahu's claims that the election was stolen.

The final seat count is 53 for Netanyahu's bloc, 48 for Eisenkot's bloc and a record 19 for the Arab parties.

Herzog's remarks

According to the Times of Israel's full text of his remarks, Herzog urged compromise, condemned "racist" rhetoric against Arab citizens and warned against going to another election. He also noted that today marks 31 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Consultations today and Thursday

Herzog's consultations with the parties run today and Thursday. Ynet expects 48 Knesset members to recommend Eisenkot and 46 to recommend Netanyahu. The Joint List, Ra'am and United Torah Judaism are undecided. Whoever Herzog picks will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.

Eisenkot, Bennett, Lapid, Golan and Liberman have agreed to recommend Eisenkot. Ynet reports Eisenkot is leaning toward a minority government and courting the Haredi parties (Ynet). Separately, Shas and two far-right parties are backing Netanyahu, according to reports in our world briefing.

Update, Nov. 4, 1 PM CT: The prediction market Kalshi gives Eisenkot a 54% chance of becoming Israel's next prime minister (Kalshi on X). That is a market price set by traders, not a poll.

Clash over the Shin Bet election probe

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected a request from Shin Bet chief David Zini to question Arab MKs Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi, saying there was no evidence. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had urged arrests anyway. The Jerusalem Post says Zini now appears to be backing off (Ynet).

Related

• Opposition Leaders Back Eisenkot for First Mandate as Results Fight Continues
• Israel Briefing: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026