JERUSALEM — Israel's former army chief Gadi Eisenkot began the task of building a new government on Sunday, November 8, formally accepting the mandate from President Isaac Herzog at a ceremony at the President's Residence, while warning that the country is sliding toward a point from which it may not recover, The Guardian reported. Eisenkot, 66, the leader of the Yashar party, appeared in a suit and tie rather than his usual all-black clothing, and the president gave him 28 days to assemble a coalition even though the bloc he leads does not hold a clear majority in parliament.

Source: The Guardian, Nov 8 2026, via World Right Now — Eisenkot receives mandate

Sunday's ceremony was the formal step that followed Herzog's announcement on Saturday evening, November 7, that he intended to task Eisenkot with forming the government after consultations in which factions totalling 67 Knesset members recommended Eisenkot and 46 recommended Netanyahu. Read the earlier report: Herzog taps Eisenkot to form government

The President's Office confirmed the sequence in its official statement: Herzog informed Eisenkot on the evening of November 7 of his intention to task him, invited him to the President's Residence to be tasked on November 8 at 17:00, and recorded that factions totalling 67 members of Knesset recommended Eisenkot, factions totalling 46 recommended Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and one faction of seven members chose not to recommend anyone. Once tasked, a member of Knesset has 28 days under Basic Law: The Government to form a government, and the president may grant an extension of up to 14 additional days, the statement said.

Source: Office of the President of Israel, Nov 7 2026 — official statement

Herzog: 'clear and unequivocal support' — and a call for healing

Addressing Sunday's ceremony, Herzog said Eisenkot had received the 'clear and unequivocal support' of a majority of Knesset members on the question of who had the best chance of forming the next government, while acknowledging that Netanyahu's Likud remained the largest party, ANI reported. The president urged Eisenkot to form an administration that would represent all sections of Israeli society, including those who had supported the outgoing government and those who voted for the opposition bloc, and said: 'I wish with all my heart that whatever government is formed will lead to unity, connection, and healing among all parts of the nation.'

Source: ANI, Nov 8 2026, via NewKerala — ceremony remarks

'A challenging and fateful state of emergency'

In his address, Eisenkot described the situation facing Israel as a 'challenging and fateful state of emergency', pointing to ongoing wars, military objectives that remained unfulfilled and what he termed a 'devastating diplomatic crisis', ANI reported. He warned that Israel's international standing was facing difficulties and that 'even some of Israel's closest allies' were reconsidering their relations with the country, said Israel was experiencing 'one of the most vulnerable moments Israeli democracy has ever known', and warned the country had reached an 'extremely dangerous point'. 'With the mandate entrusted to me here today, I will lead the establishment of a national emergency government,' he said, adding that 'this will require creative and unconventional political moves.' He added: 'Israel does not have the privilege of wasting time or repeating endless election rounds.'

Source: ANI, Nov 8 2026, via NewKerala — Eisenkot's address

After the ceremony, Eisenkot posted on X: 'Israel needs a new government. Israel needs leadership that champions what unites us and paves the way for a new era — an era of Zionism, solidarity, and friendship. The task is difficult and there is much work ahead, but I believe success is within reach. Israel must win. And I will do everything to make that happen,' ANI reported. France 24's report of the mandate noted he has up to six weeks in total for negotiations if the 14-day extension is used — the same 28-plus-14 structure stated by the President's Office.

Source: ANI, Nov 8 2026; France 24, Nov 8 2026, via 10News summary

The open door — to Likud and Religious Zionism

Eisenkot extended an invitation to all parliamentary factions, ANI reported: 'To all parliamentary factions and elected representatives: my door is open and my hand is extended, wholeheartedly and willingly, to anyone who understands the gravity of this moment and is prepared to take courageous action for the State of Israel.' In a direct appeal to Netanyahu's bloc, he said: 'If members of Likud and Religious Zionism truly believe that this is a time for unity, as they declared before the president, I cannot imagine any reason why they would not come forward and support a government under my leadership and the principles I have laid out.' 'For me, unity is neither a political bargaining chip nor an empty gimmick, but a supreme value that embodies genuine partnership,' he said. The Guardian's account made the same point in summary: Eisenkot appealed directly to Netanyahu's Likud party and to the far-right party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him, on one condition — that he himself leads the government.

Source: ANI, Nov 8 2026, via NewKerala; The Guardian, Nov 8 2026

Three routes to 61 — and each one is contested

The Guardian set out the three broad options, none of them easy. The first is a power-sharing arrangement with Netanyahu himself, a figure Eisenkot has accused of bringing Israel to a historic crisis. The second is support from the Arab-led parties: Eisenkot received the endorsements of both Arab-majority lists in the consultations, and he has set conditions for any Arab party joining his coalition, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and declaring the Palestinian militant group Hamas a terrorist organisation — but one of his partners, the more conservative Yisrael Beiteinu party, has already said it will not sit in a coalition that includes Arab-led parties. The third is an agreement with the ultra-Orthodox parties, which are demanding that military exemptions for their community continue — while equal military service, ending the longstanding draft exemptions enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox, was a central theme of Eisenkot's campaign.

Source: The Guardian, Nov 8 2026, via World Right Now — the coalition options

The split inside his own camp surfaced immediately. According to The Times of Israel reporting cited by ANI, Eisenkot and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss their disagreements and coordinate the change bloc's parliamentary agenda, a day before the new Knesset is sworn in, and Eisenkot is expected to meet B'Yachad chairman Naftali Bennett, who has remained silent amid the exchanges. Liberman has ruled out supporting a minority government or an administration dependent on Arab-led parties, ANI reported, while indicating a willingness to negotiate with ultra-Orthodox parties despite his longstanding opposition to cooperating with them, and suggesting Likud lawmakers could defect from Netanyahu's bloc. Eisenkot also cautioned his own partners: 'Anyone who tries to thwart the formation of a government for personal rather than substantive reasons will be remembered by history as someone who failed to save Israel at a time of emergency,' and he acknowledged the exercise would require compromises from all parties, pledging patience, humility and composure and a 'deep commitment to a Jewish, democratic, egalitarian, liberal and secure Israel'.

Source: ANI, Nov 8 2026, via NewKerala — Liberman split and Monday meetings

Netanyahu's response, and the shadow over the talks

Netanyahu has not accepted the result quietly: The Guardian reported he has repeatedly claimed the election was stolen by Arab parties, who turned out their supporters in large numbers — an allegation for which, The Guardian noted, he has offered little or no evidence. Israel's Shin Bet security agency has opened an investigation into possible foreign interference in the vote, but the Central Elections Committee and the president have both said the vote was valid and that even if wrongdoing were found it did not have a significant impact on the result. Both Eisenkot and the president also acknowledged a second crisis hanging over the negotiations — Israel's growing isolation abroad: Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court, and in the United States, Israel's closest ally, Democrats swept the midterm elections on Tuesday amid calls to rein in Israel after the devastation in Gaza and the war with Iran.

Source: The Guardian, Nov 8 2026, via World Right Now — Netanyahu claim labelled, vote-validity findings

What happens next is dated and close: Eisenkot and Liberman meet on Monday, the new Knesset is expected to be sworn in the following day, and the 28-day clock that started on Sunday runs into early December, with a possible 14-day extension after that. If Eisenkot presents a government and the Knesset rejects its request for confidence, the decision on the next stage returns to the president. Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until a new government is sworn in.