Eisenkot tipped for Israel govt as party drops Netanyahu

Gadi Eisenkot is the leading candidate to form Israel's next government following a historic election on October 27th, as the religious party aligned with outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to recommend him. President Isaac Herzog is conducting consultations with parties to determine the government formation, but traditionally, the mandate is given to the person recommended by the most parties, which would be Eisenkot.

The opposition leader also received a recommendation from a prominent Israeli-Arab lawmaker, who gained seats due to opposition to Netanyahu's policies. However, Eisenkot has not confirmed if he would accept Arab support to form a government. The United Torah Judaism party, which backed Netanyahu in previous elections, did not recommend either Netanyahu or Eisenkot, stating they would not recommend any Knesset member to form a government.

This move is seen as a way to punish Netanyahu and assert their votes' significance. Despite this, the party would still serve in a government if Netanyahu were to form one. With 53 seats, Netanyahu's bloc, including United Torah Judaism, has a slight advantage over Eisenkot's bloc with 48 seats. The Raam list, led by Mansour Abbas, a key Arab-Israeli lawmaker, also recommended Eisenkot.

An alliance with Arab parties could be a possibility for Eisenkot, but he risks losing support from opposition members like Avigdor Liberman, a former Netanyahu aide with hawkish views on Palestinians.