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Morning Edition · Sunday, November 8, 2026Published at 12:20 AM EST · New York
Herzog Asks Eisenkot to Form Israel's Next Government After 67 Lawmakers Back Him Over Netanyahu
Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to build a coalition, while a leak reported by Middle East Eye says Netanyahu sought a strike on Iran before the Oct. 27 vote.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has asked Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and the opposition leader, to try to form a government after an inconclusive election. If he succeeds, he replaces Benjamin Netanyahu. Eisenkot received recommendations from 67 lawmakers, against 46 for Netanyahu, according to Ynet's count. RT notes that he still faces a difficult task in assembling a coalition.
His majority depends on Arab parties. The Joint List and Ra'am both recommended him. The Joint List has indicated it could support an opposition government from outside, and Ra'am is open to joining one. Before the vote, Eisenkot's party, Naftali Bennett's party and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu all pledged not to form a government that depends on Arab parties. Writing in Hebrew in Ynet, columnist Hanoch Daum argues that the results are confusing but leave one reasonable course of action, and that taking it will require political courage.
A security question is also part of the transition. ZeroHedge, republishing Middle East Eye, reports a leak alleging that Netanyahu and Mossad chief Roman Gofman sought to carry out an operation against Iran on the eve of the Oct. 27 election. The claim comes from a leak that has not been confirmed in official records, and the Israeli government has not confirmed it.
For investors, the question is whether a new government changes Israel's approach to Iran while Washington and Tehran are negotiating. Eisenkot ran the military and is not considered soft on Iran. A cabinet that depends on Arab parties and on centrist partners would have less room for unilateral escalation, and it would face more pressure to coordinate with Washington.
Part of a tracked trend
Fragile US-Iran Detente
The US-Iran settlement is a managed, reversible arrangement rather than a durable peace, so repeated rounds of brinkmanship and renegotiation will keep regional risk live and intermittently price back into energy markets.
Veracity: Plausible
72/100- If true, who benefits
If the leak is accurate, Eisenkot and his partners can argue that the caretaker prime minister should not control military decisions during coalition talks. Netanyahu gains from treating the report as unverified.
- The nuance
Ynet confirms the count of 67 to 46. The leak traces to a single Channel 12 report that Middle East Eye relayed. Netanyahu's office denied it, and The New York Times separately reported that the military chief, Eyal Zamir, blocked a strike Netanyahu had sought. Some reports say Ra'am's support so far goes no further than its recommendation.
An open-source-intelligence read of how likely this story is true with its real nuance, not a judgment of any outlet. It assesses the claim, weighing independent and adversarial reporting. How we label confidence.
What this means
The market effect comes through Iran risk and through Israel's sovereign risk premium. A government that coordinates more closely with Washington lowers the chance of an Israeli strike that disrupts US-Iran talks, which supports the shekel and Israeli bonds. A failed coalition and a new election extend Netanyahu's caretaker period and the incentive for dramatic action that the leak describes. The precedent is the 2021 Bennett-Lapid government, which depended on Ra'am, lasted about a year and collapsed over the tensions within that coalition. Two outcomes are concrete. In the first, Eisenkot forms a narrow government with Ra'am inside and the Joint List supporting from outside within the 28-day window. In the second, his right-leaning partners refuse to break their pledge, and Israel heads toward another election. What decides between them is whether Bennett and Liberman accept Arab support in a vote of confidence. The desk's read is that a government with outside Arab support is the likelier outcome, because 67 recommendations give Eisenkot more leverage than any other candidate has, and that it would be short-lived.
Synthesized from: The New York Times · RT · Ynet (Hebrew) · ZeroHedge
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