A significant shift is underway in Israeli politics, as the country's president has turned to someone other than the sitting prime minister to try to build the next governing coalition.
President Isaac Herzog has tasked Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief of staff who has in recent years emerged as a political rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the job of trying to form Israel's next government. In Israel's parliamentary system, the president formally designates a lawmaker to attempt to assemble a coalition that can command a majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Handing that task to Eisenkot rather than Netanyahu is being described as a setback for the long-serving prime minister, reflecting the shifting balance of political support in the country.
Eisenkot, who rose to national prominence through his military career before entering politics, now faces the difficult work of negotiating with a fragmented set of parties to build a stable coalition. Reports describe the path ahead as fraught, reflecting both the complexity of Israeli coalition politics, in which governments are typically built from multiple smaller parties with differing priorities, and the uncertainty over whether enough lawmakers will ultimately back him over alternative arrangements.
The development comes at a moment of heightened attention on the broader Middle East, where regional security dynamics, including continued tension involving Iran, remain closely watched by governments and markets alike. A change in Israel's governing coalition could have implications for the country's foreign and security policy, though it is too early to say what shape a new Eisenkot-led government, if formed, would take.
Eisenkot now has a limited window, under Israeli law, to secure the support of enough Knesset members to form a government; if he cannot, the process could move to new elections or another candidate.
Who is Gadi Eisenkot?
He is a former chief of staff of the Israeli military who has since become a political figure and rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Does this mean Netanyahu is no longer prime minister?
It means he was not the one tasked with forming the next government; whether he remains in office depends on how the coalition-building process unfolds.