Will the Israeli Prime Minister be changed? Netanyahu’s rivals won the right to form the government, but it is difficult to walk on all three paths

new York Times report,israel President Herzog announced on the 7th that he had authorized the Prime Minister tonetanyahu His main rival, former military chief Eisenkot, is organizing a cabinet. Parliamentary elections were held in Israel on 27 October. No party or camp got more than half the seats and it fell into a political deadlock. Eisenkot has up to six weeks to unify the parties, but there are divisions among the parties and hopes of successfully forming a government are slim. If unsuccessful, Netanyahu may get a chance to form a government.

Isaac Herzog said that before making the decision, he had intensive conversations with both people and spent a week consulting with the 11 political parties that won seats in Congress. In the end, Gadi Eisenkot received the support of 67 MPs, surpassing Netanyahu’s 46, and received priority to form a cabinet.

There are 120 seats in the Knesset and 61 seats are needed to achieve majority. Netanyahu’s camp won 53 seats, Eisenkot and his allies won 48 seats, and two Arab parties won a record 19 seats, becoming the dominant forces for the formation of a left- and right-wing government.

Eisenkot said in a post

However, Reuters reported that the three paths facing Eisenkot to form a government are very difficult: first, forming a minority government and relying on the support of the two Arab parties, the Arab Democratic Party (Rama) and the Joint List (Joint List) on key issues; Second, ultra-Orthodox parties are tempting, but they refuse to serve young people based on their faith. Eisenkot’s camp insists that even the ultra-Orthodox must defend the country. Or three, form a coalition government with Netanyahu. Analysts believe all three options are unlikely to be realized.

Although the two Arab parties supported Eisenkot’s preference in forming a government, he refused to cooperate with either party, saying that neither party had met his conditions, which included recognizing Israel as a Jewish democratic state and publicly identifying Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be destroyed. Furthermore, some right-wing parties in the Eisenkot camp also refused to join a government that depended on the support of Arab parties.

If Eisenkot fails, Herzog could choose another candidate, most likely Netanyahu, and be given four weeks to form a government. If the second person also fails, Congress can elect a third member to make a final attempt within 14 days. If no one is successful then the Congress will be dissolved and new elections will be held.

Netanyahu will continue to serve as acting prime minister until a new government is formed. Analysts said that even if he is unable to form a cabinet this time, it would still be a victory for him if he can retain power through re-election.

Eisenkot, 66, has a centre-right stance and entered politics only in 2022. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, he briefly joined Netanyahu’s War Cabinet and then returned to the opposition. He has criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war and has vowed not to co-govern with him. His son and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.