Eisenkot Targets 58 Seats for New Israeli Government

Gadi Eisenkot is pushing for a 58-seat minority government to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two senior opposition figures, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, oppose the plan. The parties are also close to replacing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana before any coalition deal is finalized.

Current polls show the anti-Netanyahu camp ahead of the outgoing coalition. However, Zionist parties seeking change fall short of the 61 seats required for a permanent majority. Netanyahu and his allies also lack a majority in many surveys, though some polls give the right-wing bloc enough seats. The electoral threshold and small shifts in votes could decide whether Israel gets a new government or faces another round of turmoil.

Eisenkot wants to lead the bloc and serve as its main candidate to form the next government. He rejects serving under Netanyahu, even in a rotation arrangement. His plan involves winning a confidence vote with 58 or 59 seats, then working to widen the parliamentary base. Legally, a government can be sworn in with a majority in the confidence vote, meaning abstentions could allow it to take office. This scenario does not allow the bloc to remove a sitting Netanyahu government by simple majority, as that requires a constructive vote of no confidence backed by 61 MKs.

Liberman categorically rejects a minority government, even a transitional one. He insists on a Zionist majority from the start and says another election is better than a government that fails his conditions. He has suggested bringing Likud MKs into a government without Netanyahu, though he has named none. Bennett and Yair Lapid, who head the Beyachad list, also demand a Zionist government and refuse to rely on Arab party votes or abstentions. Democrats chairman Yair Golan has not ruled out cooperating with Ra'am. Eisenkot has not ruled out outside support from Ra'am, but no agreed formula exists.

A meeting between Eisenkot and Liberman this week ended with a joint call to raise voter turnout but did not settle their disagreement. Leadership rivalry continues, with Eisenkot hoping to head the largest party and Bennett viewing himself as a natural candidate due to his experience as prime minister. On the speaker, the bloc sees replacing Ohana as a step that could come before any government is formed. The aim is to give Netanyahu's opponents control of the parliamentary agenda even if he stays on as head of a caretaker government.

Names raised for the speaker role include Chili Tropper, Matan Kahana and Elazar Stern from Eisenkot's list, Meirav Ben-Ari and Eitan Ginzburg from the Bennett-Lapid list, Efrat Rayten of the Democrats, and attorney Oded Forer of Yisrael Beytenu. No consensus candidate has been announced. Liberman estimated that as many as one-third of outgoing coalition MKs might vote against Ohana. The bloc also wants to advance a state commission of inquiry into October 7, changes to conscription law, limits on the prime minister's tenure, and repeal of some judicial changes. No binding agreement exists on the details or the order of these actions.