Gadi Eisenkot has been recognized as the main candidate to form the Israeli government following consultations by President Isaac Herzog on Thursday. In the elections on October 27, neither Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister, nor Eisenkot, the former Chief of Staff of the Army, managed to secure enough votes to form a government.
Political consultations and challenges
Isaac Herzog is exploring available options on the second day of consultations with political parties. Given that the Haredi Judaism party, which had previously supported Netanyahu, has refrained from recommending him as the new Prime Minister, Eisenkot is in a better position to receive the mandate to form a government.
Eisenkot has also received support from a key representative of the Arab-Israeli minority, although he remains ambiguous about accepting this support. Meanwhile, the Haredi Judaism party has informed Herzog that it has decided not to recommend any members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) for forming a government.
Status of parties and public opinions
The Haredi Judaism party, which represents ultra-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi descent, along with the Shas party, which represents Sephardic Jews, are striving to maintain military service exemptions for religious students. Despite public pressure, Netanyahu has preserved this exemption but has yet to turn it into law.
Eisenkot, who has attempted to reach out to secular Israelis from right to left, has emphasized the closure of military service exemptions. Some of his allies have criticized the ultra-Orthodox community, viewing them as a financial burden on the government.
After Herzog assigns the mandate to a legislator, that person, likely Eisenkot or Netanyahu, will have 28 days to form a government. If unsuccessful within this period, Herzog will assign someone else.
Netanyahu's bloc has 53 seats, while Eisenkot's bloc has 48 seats in the new parliament. The Ra'am list, led by Mansour Abbas, has also supported Eisenkot, while the Arab lists, with 19 seats, have increased due to dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's right-wing government.
