Eisenkot Tapped to Form the New Israeli Government

Isaac Herzog, president of Israel, announced on Saturday, November 7, that he had chosen Gadi Eisenkot as the candidate to form the next government. Negotiations between the political parties ended in a recommendation from 67 members of parliament in favor of Eisenkot, against 46 for Benjamin Netanyahu.

Eisenkot has been given the mandate to form a "national emergency government." He now has 28 days, which can be extended by up to 14 more days, to secure the agreement needed to form the government.

Eisenkot's political bloc directly holds 48 seats in the Israeli parliament (the Knesset), while the Arab parties hold 19 seats that are crucial in these negotiations. Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and a key member of the opposition bloc, said he was ready to compromise on conscription for religious students in order to ally with the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Yaakov Asher, a representative of the United Torah Judaism party, welcomed this "flexibility" and said that any alliance proposal would be submitted to the rabbinical authorities before approval. This opening could allow the opposition to win a majority in the Israeli parliament.