Eisenkot pitches national emergency government as Herzog prepares to tap him

Gadi Eisenkot is making his move. The Yashar party leader called Friday for a national emergency government in Israel, saying the country sits in a, quote, true, dangerous and tangible state of emergency. He laid out the pitch in a post on X.

His target is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Eisenkot accused it of rejecting election results and, in his words, threatening at the most fundamental level the very existence of Israeli democracy. That's a direct shot at the sitting coalition.

So what would his government look like? Eisenkot says any Knesset member can join, as long as they sign on to four principles: recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, accepting the values of the Declaration of Independence, backing mandatory military service for everyone, and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization. Four conditions, one coalition.

The mandate math is already moving. Eisenkot confirmed that Israeli President Isaac Herzog is expected to ask him to form the new government, after minority Arab parties threw their support behind his mandate. That backing is the opening he needs.

Now the hard part begins. Assembling a majority around those four principles means bringing in lawmakers who rarely sit in the same room. Eisenkot is betting the emergency framing is enough to close the gap. Herzog's formal request is the next beat to watch.