# Netanyahu loses mandate as Herzog picks Eisenkot

> Israel's president has tapped opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government instead of Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party won the most seats but failed to secure a majority.
- Title: Netanyahu loses mandate as Herzog picks Eisenkot · NPR
- Summary: Israel's president has tapped opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government instead of Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party won the most seats but…
- Keywords: benjamin netanyahu, gadi eisenkot, isaac herzog, likud party, yashar party, israel government formation, israeli elections, NPR
- Source: NPR — https://npr.org/2026/11/07/g-s1-152536/israels-president-taps-opposition-candidate-eisenkot-to-form-a-government-in-setback-for-netanyahu
- Published: 2026-11-07T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: benjamin netanyahu, gadi eisenkot, isaac herzog, likud party, yashar party, israel government formation, israeli elections, news
## Herzog picks Eisenkot over Netanyahu
Israel's president Isaac Herzog has tapped opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, passing over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The mandate will be formally given at five p.m. local time on Sunday.
## Likud won most seats but no majority
Netanyahu's Likud party won twenty-seven seats in last month's election, six more than Eisenkot's Yashar party. Neither party secured enough support to command a majority in Israel's one hundred twenty-seat parliament.
## Eisenkot has twenty-eight days to build coalition
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, will have twenty-eight days to put together a coalition government, with a possible fourteen-day extension. He needs sixty-one seats for a parliamentary majority.
## Key takeaway

Israel's president gave opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form a government over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose party won the most seats but lacked a parliamentary majority.