President Herzog gives Gadi Eisenkot a chance to build a coalition after Netanyahu falls short again
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Israel's president handed opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to try to assemble a governing coalition after neither his Yashar party nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a parliamentary majority, opening another round of political brinkmanship in a deeply fractured Knesset.
President Isaac Herzog announced that Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, will receive the mandate to try to form Israel's next government. The decision follows recommendations from parties representing most members of the 120-seat Knesset, despite Netanyahu's Likud party winning the most seats (27) in the recent election.
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and head of the Yashar party, has 28 days to negotiate a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension, to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority. The task may require alliances with a range of parties, including ultra-Orthodox and Arab-led groups that previously ruled out cooperation with either major leader.
"His video is hysterical," Eisenkot said in response to Netanyahu's warning that any coalition with certain parties would align with "Hamas supporters" and "those who oppose Judaism."
If Eisenkot cannot assemble a coalition, Herzog may grant another lawmaker a chance to form a government, and a failure of that effort could trigger a new election, leaving Netanyahu as caretaker prime minister in the interim.