Israel's President Isaac Herzog announced on Tuesday that he will task opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new coalition government. The decision comes after last week's general election resulted in neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor Eisenkot's bloc securing a parliamentary majority.

This marks a significant development in Israel's ongoing political instability, where forming coalition governments has frequently proven challenging due to the absence of any single party winning an outright majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The president's choice is based on recommendations received from the incoming members of parliament, with Eisenkot garnering more support.

Eisenkot, a former military chief and leader of the centrist Yashar party, now has 28 days to attempt to build a viable coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. He wrote on X that it is "time to form a national emergency government" and that he will "do everything to ensure we are worthy."

The election results saw Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its allies win 53 seats, while Eisenkot's bloc, including three other Jewish opposition parties, secured 48 seats. Notably, two Arab-led alliances, the United Arab List and the Joint List, achieved an unprecedented 19 seats due to a surge in Arab voter turnout, positioning them as potential kingmakers.

However, the path to forming a government remains complex. Most Jewish parties had pledged before the election not to cooperate with the Arab parties. Eisenkot and his bloc members, with one exception, have also previously stated their unwillingness to enter a government that includes Arab parties, although speculation about potential agreements persists. An alternative could involve attempting to form a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties, a prospect that also presents difficulties.

President Herzog had indicated during consultations that he expected parties to be flexible in fulfilling all pre-election promises to avoid further elections and build a stable government. The election results had implied three potential government formations: a national unity administration involving both Netanyahu and Eisenkot, a right-wing coalition led by Netanyahu with defectors from Eisenkot's bloc, or an Eisenkot-led government potentially supported by Arab parties.

This situation echoes Israel's recent political history, which has seen significant fragmentation. Between 2019 and 2022, the country held five general elections as various leaders struggled to forge stable governing coalitions. A precedent for a unity government exists, such as the power-sharing deal between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz in 2020 following three inconclusive elections.

The president's office stated that Herzog informed both Eisenkot and Netanyahu of his decision. Eisenkot received 67 recommendations for the premiership, while Netanyahu received 46, underscoring the president's discretion in choosing the candidate with the perceived best chance of forming a coalition, regardless of the number of seats their party won.