Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot has reached out to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and its far-right allies- including the Religious Zionist Party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich- inviting them to join a national unity government, but made it clear that they would have to serve under his leadership. On Sunday, President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Eisenkot with forming the next government.

"If members of Likud and the Religious Zionist Party truly believe this is a time for unity, as they told the president, I cannot conceive of any reason why they would not support a government under my leadership and the principles I have presented," Eisenkot said.

The 66-year-old political novice has 28 days to form a government, despite his bloc lacking a clear majority. He has pledged to bridge Israel's deep political divisions, warning that the country is facing an unprecedented crisis under Netanyahu.

"We are in a state of emergency, approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel," Eisenkot said at a ceremony at the presidential office, where he formally received the mandate.
"We must form a national emergency government. This will require creative and unconventional political steps," he added.

Eisenkot said his door was open to anyone willing to recognise the gravity of the situation and support the principles he had outlined.
"My door is open and my hand is extended, wholeheartedly and willingly, to anyone who understands the gravity of this moment," he said.

Meanwhile, he also accused Netanyahu's government of pushing Israel into a deep diplomatic crisis, pointing to growing unease among the country's closest allies over its military campaigns and policies.
"We are in the midst of a devastating diplomatic crisis. Even our closest friends and strategic allies are saying their relationship with Israel must be reassessed," he said.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has led the country on and off for nearly two decades, steering it sharply to the right. His tenure has included wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Israel's international isolation has grown amid the devastation in Gaza and the war with Iran. The International Criminal Court has also issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

Eisenkot, born into a family of working-class Moroccan immigrants, could become Israel's first Sephardic prime minister. The country's political leadership has historically been dominated by the Ashkenazi community, whose roots are in Europe.

Wooing the ultra-Orthodox
In consultations last week with Herzog, Eisenkot received recommendations from parties accounting for 67 lawmakers, against 46 for Netanyahu.

But that vote count included Israeli Arabs, whose seat haul surged to a historic high on anger over Netanyahu's government and whom several parties oppose having in government.

Avigdor Liberman, a former Netanyahu aide turned sharp critic who nonetheless shares his hawkish views, has been adamant against any alliance with Arab Israelis, who are descendants of Palestinians who stayed after Israel's creation in 1948.

Taking back one of his signature campaign pledges, Liberman instead voiced an openness to an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose almost singular priority is ensuring that they remain exempt from military service.

The exemption for the ultra-Orthodox -- whose two main parties had been aligned with Netanyahu but could push Eisenkot to a majority -- has been a source of growing resentment for many Israelis as reservists fight on multiple tours of duty.

Liberman said Sunday he still backed conscription for all Israelis but that he had to make "difficult decisions" for the higher priority of ousting Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges that could land him in jail if he loses power.

Naftali Bennett, the second strongest opposition leader after Liberman, has also been outspoken against the ultra-Orthodox community's military exemption and has stayed quiet since Liberman's about-face.

Fragile power
Eisenkot has appeared to suggest he is willing to start off with a minority government -- relying on outside votes from Arab-Israeli parties -- before bringing other lawmakers into his coalition.

Assaf Shapira, a political expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, said Eisenkot would face an exceptionally fragile government if it only had 48 lawmakers in the 120-member parliament, with extensive negotiations needed on every piece of legislation.

Eisenkot has vowed to put an end to rampant violence against Palestinians by extremist West Bank settlers supported by Netanyahu's government and has warned that the incumbent premier does not have the mandate for another attack on Iran.

But he has largely backed Netanyahu's war decisions and as military chief during the 2006 Lebanon war advocated massive force against civilian infrastructure where enemies operate, a policy critics say amounts to a war crime.

In Tel Aviv, Neri Bar-On, who works in educational technology, said he expected Eisenkot to succeed in forming a government.
"But the problems run deeper," he said.
"The country is facing a massive internal conflict; even if he manages to form a government, it won't solve the underlying issues."