Gadi Eisenkot tasked with forming new Israeli government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decided to task Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new government, the president's office announced in a statement released on Saturday evening. Euronews and France 24 reported that the decision followed legislative elections last month that produced no clear winner. Eisenkot is the leader of the centrist Yashar party and a political rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][10][11]

The South China Morning Post and France 24 reported that Eisenkot is a former army chief of staff. President Herzog held talks with political figures over several days before making the announcement, including consultations with both Eisenkot and Netanyahu, according to Euronews. The South China Morning Post noted that Eisenkot aims to curb settler violence in the West Bank. [1][2][6]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, a total of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset is required to form an Israeli government. Eisenkot previously secured recommendations from 67 members of parliament, compared to 46 for Netanyahu, though Eisenkot has ruled out including Arab-led parties in his governing coalition. [12][13]

Under Israeli law, a candidate who is chosen to form a government has 28 days to complete the task, Euronews reported. The president retains the authority to extend that period by a maximum of 14 days before transferring the mandate to another candidate. [1]