Israel’s president tasks opposition leader Eisenkot with forming government

President of Israel has appointed opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with the responsibility of assembling a new coalition government. This announcement follows the recent parliamentary elections where neither Eisenkot's faction nor that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to secure a majority. The 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament, saw Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies winning 53 seats.

On the other hand, Eisenkot's centrist Yesh Atid party and three other Jewish opposition parties in his coalition bloc secured 48 seats. Two Arab-led alliances, the United Arab List and the Joint List, together won 19 seats, positioning them as potential influential players. Despite these results, all but one of the Jewish parties had previously pledged not to collaborate with Arab parties to form a government.

President Isaac Herzog has given Eisenkot the initial opportunity to form a government, following consultations with all parties during the week. The president holds significant discretion in this matter and is not obligated to select the leader of the party with the most seats. After the election results, three potential government formation scenarios emerged: a national unity administration involving both Netanyahu and Eisenkot, a right-wing coalition with Netanyahu and defectors from Eisenkot's bloc, or an Eisenkot-led government backed by the Arab parties.