JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political setback on Thursday after the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, a long-standing ally, declined to recommend him for another term, strengthening the prospects of opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot forming the next government.
President Isaac Herzog held a second day of consultations with political parties following the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot secured the parliamentary majority required to form a government.
United Torah Judaism, which supported Netanyahu after the previous five elections, informed Herzog that it would not recommend any member of parliament to form the next government.
🚨 🇮🇱 Netanyahu suffers another setback.
United Torah Judaism has declined to recommend any candidate to form Israel’s next government during consultations with President Isaac Herzog. https://t.co/uw2rxxBsSc
— Flash Update (@flashupdatenews) November 5, 2026
The party, which secured seven seats in the 120-member Knesset, also stopped short of endorsing Eisenkot. According to a statement from the president’s office, the party had decided not to recommend any lawmaker for the premiership.
United Torah Judaism represents ultra-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi origin, whose communities largely have European roots. Another religious party, Shas, represents Sephardic Jews, mainly of Middle Eastern and North African descent.
Both parties have traditionally supported Netanyahu, particularly over efforts to preserve exemptions from compulsory military service for religious students.
Although Netanyahu maintained the exemption, he stopped short of formally enshrining it in law amid growing public resentment, particularly as Israeli reservists have been repeatedly deployed in conflicts involving Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief seeking to unite centrist and centre-right forces, has pledged to end exemptions from military service.
Some of his opposition allies have strongly criticised the ultra-Orthodox community over what they describe as an unfair exemption from national military obligations.
Political observers believe United Torah Judaism’s decision may be intended primarily to put pressure on Netanyahu and demonstrate that its parliamentary support cannot be taken for granted. The party has not ruled out joining a government led by him.
Herzog was scheduled to meet representatives of major political parties later on Thursday before assigning a lawmaker the task of forming a government.
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The president generally considers the number of parliamentary recommendations received by each potential candidate when deciding whom to nominate. This makes Eisenkot a likely contender for the mandate.
The lawmaker appointed by Herzog will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. If unsuccessful, the president can assign the task to another candidate.
Netanyahu’s political bloc, including United Torah Judaism, holds 53 seats in the new parliament, compared with 48 for Eisenkot’s bloc.
Meanwhile, Israeli-Arab parties made significant gains, securing 19 seats amid widespread anger over Netanyahu’s hard-right government.
Although Eisenkot could potentially form a coalition with Arab parties, such an alliance could cost him the support of some lawmakers within the opposition camp.
