Eisenkot Tells Netanyahu to Hold Fire on 'Dangerous Moves' Until Handover

Gadi Eisenkot, the Yashar party leader now tasked with forming Israel's next government, sent a letter to outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urging him to show restraint during the transition. Eisenkot asked Netanyahu to avoid any steps that could not be delayed, in what is being read as a warning against ordering new strikes on Iran before the handover.

In the letter, Eisenkot spelled out the stakes: deploying security forces without a direct and immediate threat that cannot be postponed, he wrote, could have devastating consequences for Israeli democracy and for public trust in government institutions.

Eisenkot officially received the mandate to build a government from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday. That gives him a 28-day window to secure a majority in the Knesset.

Netanyahu is not going quietly. He said earlier this week that he is ready to lead a unity government of the Zionist and Haredi parties, arguing that Likud, as the party with the most Knesset seats, should head the next government. Herzog handed the mandate to Eisenkot instead.

Eisenkot has said his party will work with B'Yachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu, pointedly leaving out the Haredi and Arab parties. He also pledged not to end mandatory military service for all, and vowed to finish the operation in Gaza.

The transition is stirring other movement in Netanyahu's cabinet. Likud announced he appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Saar as acting Interior Minister, with a cabinet vote set for Wednesday — after Likud MK Ofir Katz was offered the job first and turned it down. The Interior Ministry has sat without a permanent head since Moshe Arbel resigned in July 2025.