Israel's president appoints Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to attempt government formation
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President Isaac Herzog has tasked Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a coalition after a deadlocked election that left neither him nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a clear majority.
President Isaac Herzog informed Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, that he would be tasked with forming a new government, with a formal appointment ceremony scheduled for Sunday at the presidential residence in Jerusalem. Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, posted on X that a national emergency government was needed and pledged to work toward it.
Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc won 53 of the 120 Knesset seats in the October 27 election, while Eisenkot's opposition bloc secured 48, leaving both without a governing majority. Eisenkot received endorsements from Arab-majority parties during consultations with Herzog, though it remains uncertain whether his bloc will accept their support.
Eiskot has said he aims to unite Israelis after Netanyahu's tenure and has criticized recent attacks on Palestinians, describing them as “Jewish terror” and blaming the current government. He opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, pledges to continue military pressure on Hamas in Gaza, and has previously articulated the “Dahiya doctrine,” a strategy of extensive force against infrastructure in areas controlled by Hezbollah.