President Herzog appoints Gadi Eisenkot to form Israeli coalition
CNN reported that President Isaac Herzog appointed former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to assemble a coalition government within six weeks on 7 November. Al Jazeera said Herzog faced a stalemate after the election left no bloc with a clear majority, with both Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking support. France 24 noted that Eisenkot said negotiations were advancing after Avigdor Liberman signaled willingness to discuss the ultra-Orthodox conscription issue.
i24NEWS quoted Liberman as saying he would relax his demand for universal conscription to help form a government that excludes Netanyahu and Arab parties, while keeping three red lines. The Jerusalem Post reported that Liberman lifted his veto on ultra-Orthodox parties, opening talks with United Torah Judaism. Earlier, i24NEWS reported that Shas showed openness to coalition talks with Eisenkot, while United Torah Judaism considered abstaining from the prime-minister recommendation process.