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The picture regarding the new government in Israel has become clear. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party emerged as the largest party, but his alliance could not garner the required 61 seats for a majority.
After this, President Isaac Herzog has invited former army chief Gadi Aizencott to form a new government on 8 November. Aisenkot is reported to have the support of 67 MPs, which is 6 more than the majority figure.
India is also keeping an eye on this political change. The main reason for this is the deep relations between the two countries. At the same time, there is also friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu. During the tenure of both the leaders, relations between India and Israel have strengthened considerably in the field of defence, technology and security.
In such a situation, the question is that if Eisencott is successful in forming a new government, will there be a change in Israel's relations with India? Will it take time for the Modi government to create a similar rapport with the new Prime Minister?
Will Netanyahu-Modi's friendship affect relations?
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Full diplomatic relations between India and Israel were established in January 1992, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July 2017 gave a new dimension to the relations between the two countries. This was the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Israel.
During this period, the personal chemistry of Netanyahu and Modi was also much discussed. Netanyahu visited India in January 2018.
Most recently, during PM Modi's visit to Israel in February 2026, the two leaders also met warmly.
Netanyahu called PM Modi not just a friend but a 'brother'. Addressing a special session of the Israeli Parliament, Netanyahu called Modi "a great leader on the world stage" and described India as a "giant power" of about 1.5 billion people.
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The closeness of the two can be gauged from the fact that Netanyahu had said, "I hope that one day Hollywood will make a film on this story of brotherhood between the two countries and it will be a superhit."
However, experts believe that the change in government in Israel will not have much impact on defense and other important relations with India. But with the arrival of the new Prime Minister, there may be a change in the coordination between the leaders of the two countries and the approach to foreign policy.
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Khinraj Jangid, Professor at OP Jindal Global University and Director of Jindal Center for Israel Studies, believes that the relations between India and Israel are currently in such a strong phase that the change of government there will not have any major impact on bilateral relations.
Speaking to BBC News Hindi, he said, "India has a good image among Israel's political parties and leaders. More importantly, the strategic and defense partnership with India matters to all parties in Israel."
However, Netanyahu being out of power will definitely be a change for India in terms of personal diplomacy.
He said, "The wish of the Indian government was that there should not be a change of power in Israel and Netanyahu should repeat, because PM Modi had a comfortable relationship with him. Such personal relationships are rarely seen in international politics, where the leader of one country can understand the needs and circumstances of another country without saying anything. India will have to develop this relationship afresh with Eisencott."
According to him, "India's friendship with Eisencott may not have the same warmth as Netanyahu's, but his attitude towards India will be determined by how important India is to Israel, and not by personal attachment to Netanyahu."
'There will be no major impact on defense partnership'
The strongest link in the relations between India and Israel is defense cooperation. Both the countries have been cooperating in the field of missile systems, air defense, drones, surveillance technology and defense production for the last several years.
The Barak-8 air defense system jointly developed by India and Israel is an important example of this partnership.
According to the Jerusalem Post, 29 percent of the arms exported by Israel between 2021 and 2025 were sold to India. During this period, India was the largest buyer of Israeli arms.
According to Dr. Alwait Ningthoujam, Assistant Professor at the Symbiosis School of International Studies, India-Israel defense cooperation has now moved beyond buyer-seller relations.
Dr. Ningthoujam writes in an article for 'The Diplomat', the defense agreement signed in November 2025 and the ongoing talks on joint projects between the two countries show that the India-Israel partnership is not dependent on any one government or leader.
He believes that the new Israeli government may review the priorities, timelines and agreements of some projects, but there is no possibility of stopping the entire defense cooperation.
Professor Khinvraj Jangid also considers India-Israel relations to be based on three main pillars – first, defense cooperation, second, technical partnership in the field of agriculture and research and third, coordination of political and strategic interests between the two countries.
According to him, "In the defense sector, India needs modern military technology and resources, while for Israel, India is a big market and an important strategic partner. The needs of both the countries complement each other. That is why this cooperation is likely to continue despite the change of government."
'India will have to proceed with caution'
Eisencott was the chief of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019. He has been recognized as a military strategist who considers Iran and its regional allies as a major threat to Israel's security.
Therefore, his becoming Prime Minister will not mean that Israel's security and military policy will change completely. However, Eisencott's diplomatic priorities and way of handling international relations may be different from Netanyahu's.
Reshma Kazi, international affairs expert and professor at Jamia Millia Islamia University, also sees the possibility of a similar change in India-Israel relations.
Talking to BBC Hindi, he said that the strategic basis of relations between the two countries is likely to remain intact, but changes can be seen at the diplomatic level.
Reshma Kazi says, "The structural continuity in relations between India and Israel will continue. But from the diplomatic point of view, some changes can be expected. For example, India has been supporting the two-state solution regarding Palestine and Gaza, but Israel does not agree with it."
India has interests related to energy, trade and regional connectivity with Iran. India wants to strengthen its reach to Central Asia through Chabahar port.
According to Reshma Kazi, this is the area where India will have to carefully pursue its diplomatic strategy under the leadership of Aizencott.
He said, "India will have to see to what extent it can maintain its strategic autonomy while continuing defense cooperation with Israel."
What will be the impact on projects like corridor and I2U2?
Image source, GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
In the year 2025-26, bilateral trade between the two countries was about 3.93 billion dollars. This means that cooperation between India and Israel is not limited to defense and security only.
Both countries are also expanding partnership in areas like agriculture, water management, technology to make sea water potable, artificial intelligence and cyber security.
Apart from this, the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor and the I2U2 alliance between India, Israel, UAE and America are also important from the trade point of view.
However, the growth of these projects has been affected due to the ongoing conflict and instability in the Middle East.
According to Dr. Ningthoujam, reducing regional tensions is necessary to take these initiatives forward. Increasing tension between Israel and its neighboring countries could affect trade, maritime transport and regional connectivity.
Reshma Kazi believes that building good relations with the new leadership is a natural part of any country's diplomacy.
According to him, "The personal relationship between Modi and Netanyahu will remain important, but India will have to try to develop a similarly positive political and strategic dialogue with Eisencott."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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