Benjamin Netanyahu May Form Israel Government as Secret Plan to Win Over Opposition Lawmakers and Arab Leaders Emerges While President Herzog Begins Talks
President Isaac Herzog has formally begun consultations with leaders of all elected parties to decide who will be given the first opportunity to build the next administration, opening a tense political chapter that could see Benjamin Netanyahu make a surprising comeback. Following an election that ended without a clear winner, the country stands at a dramatic crossroads. The incumbent prime minister, despite falling short of the required sixty-one seats, has refused to surrender power. Behind the scenes, political strategists report that Netanyahu is quietly crafting an unexpected plan to peel away lawmakers from rival camps and test unorthodox alliances to cross the finish line and form a new government.
The formal process began at the official presidential residence in Jerusalem, where party delegations arrived one after another to present their recommendations. Over forty-eight hours of closed-door discussions, the president must listen carefully to each faction, evaluate the numbers, and determine which candidate holds the most realistic chance of cobbling together a stable coalition. Under the law, the chosen leader will receive four weeks to negotiate ministerial posts, sign agreements, and seek parliamentary approval. With the election commission having certified the results after an exhaustive nationwide review of over nine thousand polling stations, there are no more recount petitions or delays left to hide behind. Every player must now play their cards on the open table.
The arithmetic of the new parliament presents an extremely complicated puzzle for everyone involved. Netanyahu and his traditional allies secured fifty-three seats, leaving them eight votes short of the magic sixty-one needed to govern. On the other side, the main opposition bloc won forty-eight seats, having agreed to push former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as their consensus candidate. Holding the decisive balance between these two hostile camps are Arab-majority parties, which won nineteen seats. Because neither main group can reach the majority mark on their own, the race to govern has turned into a desperate hunt for outside defectors, surprise partners, and backdoor arrangements.
The first possibility for Netanyahu to retain power involves breaking the unity of the opposition alliance. History shows that the veteran leader is a master of political maneuvering who has survived dozens of seemingly fatal crises. His team is reportedly reaching out to individual right-leaning members inside the rival coalition, particularly those allied with former leaders like Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman. By offering senior ministerial posts, lucrative budget allocations for pet projects, and assurances of defense influence, Netanyahu hopes to convince just a handful of dissident lawmakers to defect from their parties. Winning over even four or five individual members would instantly bring his total within striking distance of a stable majority.
The second and most talked-about scenario is the prospect of building a quiet understanding with Arab political leaders. In ordinary times, traditional conservative groups strongly oppose any formal cooperation with Arab factions. However, extreme political emergencies often produce unbelievable compromises. Netanyahu has previously engaged in back-channel talks with Arab lawmakers, offering massive funding packages for neighborhood development, crime prevention in minority towns, and building permits in exchange for parliamentary support or calculated abstentions during key confidence votes. If certain Arab lawmakers agree to simply walk out of the chamber during the confirmation vote, the total threshold required to form an administration drops, allowing Netanyahu to squeak through with a minority government.
A third route being quietly discussed in political circles is the creation of an emergency national unity government. The country continues to deal with severe security challenges on northern and southern borders, alongside diplomatic friction with foreign allies. In past times of deep regional crisis, opposing leaders have agreed to set aside their bitter personal feuds and share executive power under rotating leadership pacts. While opposition figures like Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot have publicly taken a strict anti-Netanyahu stance, persistent deadlock could pressure moderate voices to accept a shared cabinet to prevent the country from sliding into complete chaos.
The fourth potential scenario is a calculated move to force a failure of rival attempts, keeping Netanyahu in power as a caretaker leader. If the president decides to grant the first chance to Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu and his allies will do everything possible to block the opposition from reaching an agreement. Because the opposition alliance includes both staunch right-wing nationalists and left-wing figures who disagree fundamentally on the role of Arab parties, keeping their coalition together for twenty-eight days is an extraordinarily fragile task. If the opposition fails to produce sixty-one votes within the allotted timeframe, the mandate returns to parliament, allowing Netanyahu to prolong his caretaker leadership while working the phones to build a last-minute pact.
For ordinary families living across the country, this prolonged struggle over power brings intense frustration and daily anxiety. Citizens have endured several rounds of snap elections in recent years, watching billions of public funds spent on political campaigns while basic living costs soar. Working families are struggling to manage expensive grocery bills, high mortgage payments, and public transit disruptions, yet the entire machinery of the state remains frozen in political bargaining. People want effective governance, safe communities, and an end to political paralysis, but the political class remains entirely consumed by tactical calculations over who sits in the prime minister office.
The outcome of these negotiations will also determine the direction of national security and regional defense policy. With long-range tensions simmering across the Middle East, ground clashes near southern borders, and sensitive international trade routes facing disruption, having an uncertain administration in Jerusalem complicates vital defense decisions. Neighboring nations and international partners in Washington and Europe are watching the presidential talks with great care, knowing that the composition of the next cabinet will decide whether the country pursues aggressive military escalation or seeks diplomatic understandings to de-escalate regional tensions.
The next forty-eight hours will decide the tempo of the entire process. When President Herzog concludes his meetings with party delegates, he must make a historic judgment call that will shape the future of the nation. Whether he hands the mandate to the incumbent leader or gives the opposition their chance, Benjamin Netanyahu has proved throughout his career that he should never be counted out until the very last vote is cast. As secret talks, backdoor negotiations, and political offers unfold across Jerusalem, every single lawmaker holds immense power to determine who will govern the country.