Eisenkot’s Entry, Netanyahu’s Exit: A Test for Peace

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog faces a defining moment on Sunday. His decision on whom to nominate to form the next government must be clear, decisive and guided by the long-term interests of the country rather than political expediency.

According to media reports, 67 lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset have recommended opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, against 46 supporting Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the numbers appear decisive, mutual vetoes among political blocs have complicated the formation of a governing coalition.

Herzog must look beyond parliamentary arithmetic. His choice should reflect the urgent need to end the confrontation, to be precise, the war. Israelis have remained under a war-like situation since October 7, 2023. Continuing this cycle of hostility cannot be presented as a sustainable national strategy.

Eisenkot, despite receiving a majority of recommendations, faces a formidable challenge. Critics argue that he and Netanyahu represent two sides of the same coin. If he wishes to disprove this perception, he must demonstrate that his leadership can deliver a fundamentally different political and regional direction.

The most difficult, yet necessary, step would be to bring Arab parties into a governing alliance. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have reportedly ruled out such an arrangement, despite Arab lawmakers recommending Eisenkot. This contradiction exposes the limitations of Israel’s political inclusion.

Under the principle of “Mutual Coexistence,” Arab citizens must be treated as legitimate political stakeholders rather than convenient supporters whose votes are welcomed but whose participation is rejected.

Making Arab parties part of a governing coalition may prove to be one of the most difficult political tasks. However, if Israel genuinely seeks sustainable peace, this bitter pill has to be swallowed.

The peaceful transfer of power is a fundamental requirement of democracy. Netanyahu’s allegations of election irregularities, despite the Election Committee’s assurance that the integrity of the election was not compromised, should not be allowed to undermine public confidence.

Herzog must therefore nominate the candidate who offers the best opportunity to establish a government committed to reconciliation, inclusion and regional stability.

Eisenkot’s entry and Netanyahu’s exit could mark a turning point. However, changing the prime minister without changing the political mindset will merely reproduce the existing confrontation.

The real test is not who occupies the prime minister’s office, but who is prepared to end the war and build peace.

Is Netanyahu hoping against hope?

The musicians aboard the Titanic continued playing as the ship went down, acting as if they were oblivious to the disaster taking place that would soon submerge them. Similarly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a point of looking like he is continuing to do his job, as if this coming weekend will not be his final days at the Prime Minister’s Residence. 

There are no moving trucks. There has been no speech acknowledging defeat. And of course, there has been no contact whatsoever with incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett or anyone close to him.

There are interesting references in private conversations to Ariel Sharon’s last-minute success in blocking Shimon Peres from forming a government in 1990. Sharon helped Agudat Yisrael MK Eliezer Mizrachi go into hiding, protected by bodyguards hired by Sharon, leaving Peres to face the wrath of his wife, Sonia, who made a rare appearance in the Knesset plenum’s visitors’ gallery for naught.

Five of the seven MKs in Yamina have been assigned bodyguards to protect them, as has New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar. But the guards are there to enable them to vote, not to help them avoid voting. If anyone goes into hiding, it might be backbench Ra’am (United Arab List) MKs Walid Taha and Saeed Alharomi.

It would only take one MK to vote against the coalition for it to lose its narrow majority and keep Netanyahu in power. Sources close to those involved in preventing the government’s formation said there was still a 15% to 20% chance that they could manage to stop it.

They said that the leak of the coalition guidelines to Channel 12’s political analyst Amit Segal was proof that there is somebody within the new coalition who is working to sabotage it. Clauses in the coalition deal that would have prevented a Netanyahu comeback were changed after the backlash from the leak that night, and that was already an achievement for Netanyahu.

Knesset Speaker, Yariv Levin has deliberately set the vote on the new government for Sunday in order to add an extra day between the publication of the coalition guidelines and the vote, hoping to maximize the effect of an outcry to potentially wavering MKs. Levin also got away with scheduling it for late Sunday afternoon, not the morning, to allow more time for tension to build.

Only after the agreements are signed will the final appointments be revealed. Labor leader Merav Michaeli has been hiding the role of MK Gilad Kariv, a Reform rabbi whose appointment to certain roles could be considered very controversial. Nachman Shai, who is not an MK, is expected to be named Diaspora Affairs minister, but Kariv, who finished second in Labor’s Knesset primary, will either receive a deputy minister’s post in a sensitive ministry or be put in charge of an influential Knesset committee.

Shas, United Torah Judaism and Likud intend to use Kariv to attack the coalition, continuing their efforts to turn Reform into a dirty word. Kariv’s support for the American left-wing lobby group J Street will undoubtedly be highlighted. Netanyahu already attacked J-Street’s founder, Jeremy Ben-Ami, on social media this week in an effort to paint the Bennett-Lapid leadership as a “J-Street government.”

The comparisons of the new coalition to Iran, Syria and North Korea are just the start. Netanyahu’s associates say he truly believes the entire world will be threatened if Israel’s enemies perceive the Jewish state as weakened without him in power.

His critics, of course, say his actual motivation is to avoid the wrath of his wife, Sara, not Iran. It is no wonder that all compromise proposals Netanyahu negotiated had he been part of a coalition kept his family living on Balfour Street, even during the time he would have rotated out of the premiership.

With that much at stake, it is no wonder that Netanyahu will leave no stone unturned ahead of Sunday’s vote. Only if the vote happens and he is officially out of power will Netanyahu play his final song and get ready to move.

“It’s not over yet,” said a source close to Netanyahu. “He always prepares for the worst scenario, but there is more happening than meets the eye. Let’s see on Sunday.”