Point of no return: On Israel’s next government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s decision to invite opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government reflects the real mandate of the October 27 legislative elections. While Mr. Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party finished second with 21 seats, behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, which won 27, the former military chief, who campaigned on an anti-Netanyahu platform, has secured the support of 67 legislators in the 120-member Knesset. In Mr. Eisenkot’s own words, Israel risks “descending to dark places, to a point of no return”.

But it is not yet clear what kind of a government Mr. Eisenkot is seeking to form. The opposition parties are split between a Jewish-led bloc with 48 MKs and an Arab-led bloc of 19 MKs. Arab parties have offered in-principle support for Mr. Eisenkot to keep Mr.

Netanyahu’s right-religious coalition out of power. But what is not clear is whether they would be part of the government or offer outside support by allowing Mr. Eisenkot to run a minority government. Some of Mr.