🔴 Israeli president picks Netanyahu’s rival Eisenkot to try to form government

President Isaac Herzog has tasked Gadi Eisenkot, Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival, with trying to form Israel’s next government after an election left both camps short of a parliamentary majority. The choice begins a difficult coalition-building process, with no clear route to power and another election possible if negotiations fail.

Netanyahu’s Likud won 27 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, but his coalition secured only 53, below the 61 needed for a majority. Eisenkot’s Yashar party won 21 seats, while his broader bloc has 48; Arab parties hold 19 seats but Eisenkot’s allies have resisted joining them. He has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to seek a coalition, minority government or unity deal, though analysts consider each option unlikely.