The Times of Israel’s live blog for 6 November 2026 reports that Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, says he is building a government around four opposition parties: Yashar with 21 seats, B’Yachad with 12, The Democrats with eight and Yisrael Beytenu with seven. He said he wants to be sworn in as soon as possible.
According to the same report, Mr Eisenkot set out four conditions, including mandatory national service, military or civilian, for all Israelis, and recognition of Hamas as a terror group committed to dismantling its military and governing power. He also claimed that 67 of the 120 members of the Knesset recommended him to form the next coalition, and that the seven MKs of United Torah Judaism did not recommend Benjamin Netanyahu, leaving the prime minister with 46 supporters. These figures are his own assertions as relayed by the paper.
The blog adds that Avigdor Liberman said he is open to a coalition with Haredi parties and to a compromise on the enlistment law, while Yair Golan said he was optimistic after what he called substantial progress. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas reportedly declined to describe Hamas as a terror group, citing fear for his family’s safety. President Isaac Herzog is expected to announce his mandate decision on Sunday.
Reporting note: This relies on one live blog, and the seat counts and recommendation figures are claims made by the politicians involved, not independently confirmed. Coalition talks in Israel can shift quickly.
Photo: Clema12 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
