Israel's President Tasks Eisenkot With Forming Government After Opposition Bloc Wins 67 Knesset Endorsements

Analysis
Confidence is high, because independent outlets confirm the mandate and its 28-day clock and the obstacles appear in the parties' own public statements. Eisenkot is very unlikely to present a government and win a Knesset confidence vote by December 6, 2026. The 67 endorsements rest on Arab-led parties that Eisenkot's four conditions bar from cabinet and that Liberman refuses to rely on. The Haredi alternative requires United Torah Judaism's rabbis to accept mandatory service, which every bloc party campaigned on, while Shas says it belongs to the right-wing bloc. A minority government sworn in with Arab outside support and a Haredi abstention could still pass quickly, since confidence votes need only a simple majority and Eisenkot wants to move within days. Liberman would oppose that route. If it fails, the mandate may pass to Netanyahu or a third candidate, a new election becomes more plausible, and foreign governments, markets, and Gaza and Lebanon planners would keep dealing with a Netanyahu caretaker government.