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Eisenkot's coalition path could run through ultra-Orthodox parties, commentator says

Mati Tuchfeld predicts Netanyahu will try to block those alliances, but the discussion offers a political scenario rather than an announced new maneuver.

Channel: C14 Hebrew channel ·

IsraelStory of November 6, 2026Trari Newsroom

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C14: Israel's Channel 14, a news channel on the political right, on air since 2014 (as Channel 20 until 2021). 497K subscribers and 758M views.

איזנקוט בלחץ? המהלך של רה"מ נתניהו שעלול לטרוף את כל הקלפים

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0:25Tuchfeld predicts Eisenkot will first seek a coalition agreement with United Torah Judaism.
2:02He interprets withholding a presidential recommendation as ultra-Orthodox independence, not a promise to join Eisenkot.
3:05Tuchfeld expects Netanyahu to obstruct Eisenkot's coalition-building in hopes of receiving the mandate himself.
4:47Meir introduces Herzog's remarks about Arab society and Ra'am; both speakers criticize his approach.
7:05The discussion considers another election and potential obstacles involving Avigdor Lieberman.

Ultra-Orthodox parties could become Gadi Eisenkot's first destination in his effort to form Israel's next government, political commentator Mati Tuchfeld argues, with Benjamin Netanyahu working to keep those parties out of his challenger's camp.

Speaking on Israel's Channel 14 (ערוץ 14), Tuchfeld tells host Tal Meir that Eisenkot will initially seek to bring United Torah Judaism into a coalition. Eisenkot, a former military chief who leads the Yashar party, was Netanyahu's main challenger in the election. United Torah Judaism represents ultra-Orthodox Jewish voters and comprises Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael.

Tuchfeld says the alliance will not recommend Eisenkot to President Isaac Herzog. An on-screen caption refers more specifically to Degel HaTorah withholding a recommendation for either prospective prime minister. Tuchfeld interprets that stance as a signal of political independence, not a commitment to join an Eisenkot government.

Israel's president assigns a lawmaker the task of forming a government after consulting parliamentary parties. Tuchfeld expects Eisenkot to receive the first opportunity, with an initial 28 days and a possible 14-day extension. That is his forecast, not an announcement of Herzog's decision.

He predicts Netanyahu will use that period to discourage ultra-Orthodox parties from joining Eisenkot, hoping a failed attempt would bring the mandate to Netanyahu instead. Tuchfeld also argues that failure could end Eisenkot's political career, an assessment rather than a statement from Eisenkot.

The upload is titled "איזנקוט בלחץ? המהלך של רה"מ נתניהו שעלול לטרוף את כל הקלפים", meaning "Eisenkot under pressure? Netanyahu's move that could upend everything." The segment does not set out a newly announced Netanyahu initiative: its substance is Tuchfeld's prediction of how coalition negotiations could unfold.

Later, Meir and Tuchfeld criticize Herzog's remarks about Arab society and Ra'am, an Arab party with Islamist roots that joined an Israeli governing coalition in 2021. Tuchfeld characterizes Arab lists as nationalist and aligned with Israel's enemies; that is his political characterization. The discussion closes by considering another election and potential difficulties involving Avigdor Lieberman, without announcing a coalition agreement.