Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot launched a legislative push on November 10, 2026, targeting caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legacy during the opening session of the new Knesset in Jerusalem.
Eisenkot Takes the Mandate
President Isaac Herzog granted Eisenkot the mandate to form a government after 67 lawmakers recommended him, compared to 46 for Netanyahu, as reported by JNS.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party controls 21 seats, while his centrist-to-right bloc holds 48 seats in the 120-seat parliament. Eisenkot, who is 66 years old, is a political newcomer and a former military chief who entered politics in 2022. President Herzog gave Eisenkot up to 28 days to build a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist bloc secured 53 seats in the October 27 election, leaving both major factions short of the 61 seats required for a majority. Arab-Israeli lawmakers hold 19 seats, with parties like Ra’am and the Joint List recommending Eisenkot without committing to join his coalition. Likud won the most seats of any single party with 27 mandates in the legislature. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist alliance garnered 53 seats, falling short of the required threshold.
'So if there are 61 seats, then Hamas is a terror organization?'@ariel_oseran presses Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas on making his willingness to call Hamas a terrorist group conditional on a place in a governing coalition pic.twitter.com/wRdHfrq3Vh
During the process, Eisenkot has stated that any national emergency government
he constructs will be comprised of four Zionist parties belonging to the change bloc: his own Yashar Party, the B’Yachad party led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu Party, and the Democrats led by Yair Golan.
Opposition Introduces Bills
Eisenkot’s Yashar party submitted a series of bills immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, according to France 24. The proposals include establishing an independent commission to investigate the security failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, attacks, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths in Israel and the abduction of 251 hostages into Gaza.
If Gadi Eisenkot and the opposition bloc are remotely serious about getting rid of Netanyahu, and about Israel’s democratic future, they’ll do the obvious, strategic, and non-racist thing of forming a government with the Arab parties. A Jewish-Arab political partnership is…
The opposition bloc is also working to repeal the judicial overhaul implemented by Netanyahu’s government and introduce term limits for the prime minister. The Guardian noted that the six opposition parties moved to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu ally, to seize control of the legislative agenda.
Additional legislative efforts include a March 2025 amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, which takes effect when the new Knesset convenes on November 10, alongside June legislation that restructured the Police Investigations Department, known as Mahash, removing it from the State Attorney’s Office to establish it as an independent body within the Justice Ministry featuring new oversight and appointment procedures.
Did you criticize Israel's Central Elections Committee when it tried to ban the Arab parties? Did you criticize Netanyahu when he warned that "Jewish women from the left are leading Arab women voters to the polls"? Did you criticize the Jewish parties that said they would… https://t.co/5o2d8fWJkl
Leaders Clash in Parliament
Eisenkot has set strict principles for coalition partners, demanding acceptance of Israel’s identity as a Jewish state and the formal classification of Hamas as a terrorist group. During the Knesset session, Netanyahu urged a national-unity government, pointing to ongoing regional threats.
In the very near future, we're going to be confronted by international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and the preservation of this terror regime that seeks to annihilate us.
Eisenkot dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as an exploitation of the occasion and as evidence that he was unfit for office, while Ohana said he had agreed to a request from lawmakers to hold the speaker vote despite his strong opposition. During the inaugural session, far-right caretaker National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir heckled Yousef Jabareen, the leader of the Arab-majority Joint List, shouting across the chamber.
Avigdor Liberman subsequently posted on social media to question the prospect of forming a government with Arab parties, writing: You want to form a government with them?
Yair Golan, the leader of the center-left Democrats holding eight seats, also criticized Netanyahu on social media, writing that Netanyahu was struggling to accept being voted out and was inciting against the Arab public to hold onto power.
All the proud declarations that Israel’s democracy gives 2 million Arab citizens the vote will ring increasingly hollow if the opposition refuses to govern with their support — even if that means leaving Netanyahu in power.
Which parties will ultimately agree to join Eisenkot’s coalition within the allotted 28 days?
Earlier coverage: Arab parties could help opposition bypass Netanyahu in Israel
