Gadi Eisenkot Gets First Shot at Replacing Netanyahu as Israel's PM

Gadi Eisenkot has been tapped to make the first attempt at forming Israel's next government, putting him in direct competition with Benjamin Netanyahu for the country's top job, according to The Wall Street Journal. The assignment gives Eisenkot the opening move, but not a guaranteed outcome: he must still overcome disagreements among political parties to assemble a coalition strong enough to unseat Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, the Journal reports.

Why was Eisenkot tapped first?

The Journal identifies Eisenkot as Netanyahu's challenger and says he was the one selected to try first in the process of building a new Israeli government. Being first in line is a procedural advantage — it means Eisenkot gets the initial window to negotiate with other parties before any rival attempt is considered — but it carries no promise of success. The Journal's framing is blunt: Eisenkot has been "tapped to try to form" a government, language that signals an attempt, not a done deal.

What stands between Eisenkot and a governing majority?

The core obstacle, per the Journal, is disagreement among political parties over the shape of a coalition. Eisenkot needs a bloc "robust enough" to replace Netanyahu, and that requirement is doing a lot of work in the Journal's account: a thin or fractious coalition would leave the new government exposed to the same instability that has defined recent Israeli politics. The Journal does not specify which parties are at odds or over what policy terms, but it frames the disagreements as the central hurdle standing between Eisenkot and an actual government.

Is an ultra-Orthodox deal part of the calculation?

Separately, Israel's opposition has been weighing an arrangement with ultra-Orthodox parties as part of the broader effort to oust Netanyahu, according to HTT News. Ultra-Orthodox parties have long been pivotal swing blocs in Israeli coalition math, and a deal with them — on whatever terms opposition negotiators are offering — would address exactly the kind of multiparty disagreement the Journal says Eisenkot must resolve. Whether such a deal factors into Eisenkot's own coalition-building effort, or runs on a parallel track among opposition parties more broadly, is not detailed in the available reporting; the two developments are connected by subject matter but not explicitly tied together in either source.

What does this mean for Netanyahu's hold on power?

The Journal's description of Netanyahu as Israel's longest-serving leader underscores what is at stake in Eisenkot's attempt: a tenure that has outlasted multiple election cycles and coalition crises. That longevity is itself a data point about how difficult it has been for rivals to assemble the kind of durable coalition the Journal says Eisenkot now needs. Netanyahu has weathered repeated efforts to remove him from office; the current attempt is notable mainly because Eisenkot, rather than any of Netanyahu's previous challengers, has been given the first formal chance to try.

What should readers watch for next?

• Whether Eisenkot can convert disagreeing parties into a signed coalition agreement, the specific hurdle the Journal flags as the main obstacle.
• Whether the ultra-Orthodox deal under discussion, as reported by HTT News, becomes part of any coalition Eisenkot assembles or remains a separate opposition track.
• Whether Netanyahu, as the incumbent and Israel's longest-serving leader, retains enough party support to outlast this challenge the way he has outlasted previous ones.
• Any formal statement from Eisenkot's camp or Netanyahu's office confirming or disputing the terms the Journal describes, since neither side's direct comment appears in the reporting so far.

The outcome will turn on details not yet public: which parties are disagreeing, over what terms, and how firm the ultra-Orthodox option actually is. Until a coalition agreement is signed or the attempt collapses, Eisenkot's "first run" remains exactly that — a first attempt, with hurdles still ahead.

What is not yet known about the timeline?

Neither the Journal nor HTT News specifies a deadline by which Eisenkot must deliver a coalition, nor what happens procedurally if his attempt falls short. The Journal frames the task only as securing a bloc "robust enough" to replace Netanyahu, without detailing a mandate period or next-in-line alternative. That omission matters for readers trying to gauge urgency: without a stated cutoff, the dispute among parties described in the reporting could play out over an extended stretch, during which Netanyahu remains in office as the sitting prime minister while Eisenkot negotiates.

Map Tabs is A coming-soon tabbed map for iPhone. Not downloadable yet.