Israel's Herzog gives Eisenkot the first shot at a government, backed by 67 lawmakers to Netanyahu's 46

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will give opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first mandate to form a government on Sunday, his office announced, according to Investing.com's report, credited to Reuters. It is a setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stays on as caretaker while the process runs. A mandate is a chance to try, not a government.

The numbers behind the mandate

Seats: Investing.com. Recommendations: Al-Monitor, which also reported seven abstentions. The gap is the point. Netanyahu\'s camp won more seats than Eisenkot\'s own bloc, but Eisenkot collected far more recommendations because the two Arab-majority lists, which together won 19 seats, backed him. Al-Monitor reported that United Torah Judaism, which backed Netanyahu after the previous five elections, declined to recommend him this time and did not side with Eisenkot either.

Why 67 does not equal a majority

A recommendation is not a coalition vote. Herzog said on Thursday that the result "may appear clear" but that the law gives him the job of judging who can actually form a government, given what he called mutual vetoes between and within the blocs. The sticking point is the same one we flagged before the vote in our election-night story.

• Al Jazeera reported on Nov. 3 that the Jewish-led opposition parties agreed to back Eisenkot but are split on allying with Arab-led parties, and that his four stated principles include recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and labeling Hamas a "terrorist" group, which could exclude some of them (Al Jazeera).
• Al-Monitor reported that Avigdor Liberman\'s Yisrael Beytenu has repeatedly said it will not sit in a government that relies on Arab party support.
• Al-Monitor said both Arab lists announced on Thursday they were backing Eisenkot.

Investing.com says Eisenkot has up to six weeks to assemble a coalition, and that the mandate could revert to Netanyahu if the effort fails.

What it means for markets and business

We have no evidence that this announcement moved prices; it was expected after Thursday\'s recommendations. The iShares MSCI Israel ETF closed Friday at $111.48, about 19% below its May 29 peak, on our chart below. That is a backdrop, not a reaction to this news.

For businesses with Israeli suppliers, customers or investors, the practical exposure is timing. A caretaker government cannot make major policy shifts, so decisions on the war, budget and aid arrangements stay on hold until a coalition is sworn in, or until a second election path opens if both candidates fail. Watch three things: whether Liberman moves, whether Herzog\'s Sunday statement sets any conditions, and whether Netanyahu\'s camp tries to peel off parties from Eisenkot\'s side.

Related: our War Room coverage of Iran and the region.

Sources: Investing.com (Nov. 7, 2026), Al-Monitor (Nov. 5, 2026), Al Jazeera (Nov. 3, 2026); ETF price data via Yahoo Finance. Sunday\'s formal announcement had not happened when this was written. This is news and market information, not investment advice.