Israel's 27 October 2026 election left both Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot short of a majority, and President Isaac Herzog — who says he will task a candidate on Sunday — must decide who gets the first attempt at forming a government. Eisenkot leads endorsements 67 to 46, but only thanks to Arab-led parties he has ruled out, Netanyahu's ally United Torah Judaism withheld support over the conscription exemption, and analyst Nehru Jamhour says the likeliest outcome is a drawn-out impasse and a repeat election with Netanyahu as caretaker.