Netanyahu rival Eisenkot tapped to form Israeli government

Israel's Herzog taps Gadi Eisenkot to form government, sidelining Netanyahu

Updated 20 hours ago - World

Netanyahu rival Eisenkot tapped to form Israeli government

*Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot at an election-night rally in Tel Aviv last month. Photo: Tomer Neuberg/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images*

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday that he will task Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Yashar party, with forming a new government, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

**Why it matters:** Eisenkot will have 28 days to establish a new government. This is the closest Netanyahu has been to losing power since 2021, but deep divisions could still prevent them from forming a government.

**Driving the news:** Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats in the Oct. 27 election, but his coalition lost its majority, winning just 53 of the 120 seats in parliament.

* Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats, but the two Arab parties, which won 19 seats, backed his bid to form a government.
* During consultations held earlier this week, 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot to form the new government, while only 46 recommended Netanyahu.
* United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox ally of Netanyahu, declined to endorse him and signaled it could join an Eisenkot-led coalition.

**The other side:** On Saturday, Netanyahu called for a unity government headed by him.

* Netanyahu attacked the Arab parties and falsely claimed they want to destroy Israel. He proposed Eisenkot and other Jewish parties in the opposition join his far-right bloc.
* Eisenkot rejected Netanyahu's appeal as political spin.

**What to watch:** Eisenkot said he intends to form an "national emergency government" built around the 48 members of his bloc.

* But he would need support from lawmakers outside his bloc to win a vote of confidence in parliament.
* Eisenkot will have to chose whether he wants this support to come from the ultra-Orthodox parties or the Arab parties, but either path risks alienating members of his bloc.
* Both options could also force Eisenkot and his allies to break campaign promises.

*This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates*