Gadi Eisenkot in a June 2026 portrait. Photo by Yahav Trudler, cropped (CC BY-SA)
Here’s the real headline behind the “Bibi is out” posts: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has handed opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to try to form the country’s next government. That’s a real setback for Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is not a transfer of power. Eisenkot still has to build a coalition and win a vote in parliament, and until a new government does that, Netanyahu stays in office, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Key Takeaways
- Herzog announced his decision on Saturday, Nov. 7, and formally gave Eisenkot the mandate at a ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 8.
- Parties representing 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, versus 46 for Netanyahu. Recommendations are not coalition deals or a confidence vote.
- Eisenkot has 28 days, until Dec. 6, with a possible 14-day extension, per Israel Hayom.
- His four-party bloc holds 48 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53, and Arab-led lists won 19. Nobody has 61 yet.
The Full Story
Axios first reported Herzog’s choice on Saturday, after Netanyahu’s coalition lost its majority in the Oct. 27 election. At Sunday’s ceremony, Herzog told Eisenkot, “I expect you to do everything in your power to establish a government that will serve the entire people.” Eisenkot said “unconventional steps” would be needed and repeated his call for a “national emergency government.”
The math is the hard part. Eisenkot met Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman on Monday in talks both sides called productive, Israel Hayom reports. But Lieberman refuses to rely on the Arab-led parties that recommended Eisenkot, and without Lieberman, Eisenkot loses his path to a majority. Eisenkot’s camp is exploring a coalition with United Torah Judaism, which wants a deal on ultra-Orthodox military conscription first. None of these are signed agreements.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, renewed his call for a unity government under his own leadership, according to Israel Hayom. A public call for unity doesn’t mean either side has agreed to share power, and Axios reported Saturday that Eisenkot had rejected an earlier version of that appeal.
Why “Picked” Doesn’t Mean “Prime Minister”
If Eisenkot can’t form a government in time, or his government fails a confidence vote, Herzog has three days to decide whether to hand the job to someone else, The Jerusalem Post explains, and NPR notes that it could then fall to Netanyahu. If every attempt fails, Israel heads to another election, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker. That’s why PCP’s earlier fact-check of the viral “Bibi is out” claim still holds: the next step changed, not the final outcome.
