Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he will give opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition after the Oct. 27 election.
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday night he was giving opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition following elections on Oct. 27.
Eisenkot, a former military chief, ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading a bloc of parties seeking to oust Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier. Neither candidate’s bloc won a clear majority in the vote.
Herzog made the decision after marathon discussions with representatives from most of Israel’s main parties, who recommended that Eisenkot be tasked with assembling a new government.
The announcement, which had been expected on Sunday, came shortly after Netanyahu called for a “national unity government” in a video statement and warned against “hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters,” which he described as an apparent reference to the Arab-led parties.
Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly portrayed Arab-led parties as a threat to national security. Eisenkot has said he is willing to work with them under certain conditions, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed.
Eisenkot’s party, Yashar (“Straight”), criticized Netanyahu’s video in a statement posted on X, urging members of his party, Likud, to disavow their alliance with “radical parties,” which it referenced as a response to more extreme parties within the religious-nationalist base. The statement said Eisenkot would include only parties and parliament members who support Yashar’s principles, including recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization.
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