Eight Major Challenges for Gadi Eisenkot to Form a New Government

An important turning point has arrived in Israel's political arena, where former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot has posed a major challenge to long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a BBC Hindi report, securing the support of at least 61 MPs is mandatory to prove a majority in Israel's 120-member parliament. Currently, Eisenkot is reported to have the support of a total of 67 MPs from six political parties. Amid these equations, President Isaac Herzog has officially invited him to form a government. Eisenkot now has 28 days to form a new government, with a possibility of an additional 14-day period.

This process is not easy for Eisenkot. He will have to depend on the support of Arab political parties to sustain the government. Running a government with the backing of Arab parties in Israel's complex political structure is a major challenge, because Arab parties may object to or put the brakes on many of Eisenkot's promises and policies. Since Eisenkot himself is new to politics, resolving such intricate political equations is like a test for him. Netanyahu's Likud party and its allies won 53 seats in the election, while Eisenkot's centrist 'Yashar' party and its alliance secured 48 seats. These results indicate that the support of Arab parties is indispensable for forming a government.

The second major challenge before Eisenkot is the issue of Iran. Netanyahu has always considered Iran to be the biggest threat to Israel and presents himself as the protector of Iran. On February 28, 2026, Israel and the US jointly launched attacks on Iran, which has made the situation in the Middle East more critical. No settlement has been reached in this conflict yet, so the threat from Iran remains. How to handle this security challenge is a major problem for Eisenkot. Furthermore, the impact of political changes in the US could also fall on Israel. The Republican Party in the US has lost its majority in both houses of Congress, one of the reasons for which is considered to be the war with Iran. If the US changes its policy regarding Iran, it will directly impact Israel's security apparatus.

During Netanyahu's tenure, massive protests took place in the country due to corruption allegations, failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks, and the controversial plan to overhaul the judiciary. Eisenkot has criticized Netanyahu on all these issues, but now upon coming to power, he will have to work on these very issues. Facing these challenges is the biggest test of Eisenkot's political career.

Gadi Eisenkot was a former commander of the Israeli army and entered politics in the year 2022. He was a member of the National Unity Party but left the party due to ideological differences. Thereafter, he founded his centrist party 'Yashar', which means 'straight' or 'honest'. Following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, he joined Netanyahu's war cabinet, but later became a staunch critic of Netanyahu. During the Gaza war, he lost his son and two nephews, and in the election campaign, he emphasized his security and military background.