The anti-Netanyahu: Can Gadi Eisenkot give the world a different Israel?

Gadi Eisenkot has been asked to form Israel’s next government after elections left no alliance with a Knesset majority. His chances are uncertain: success would require difficult negotiations across a divided opposition, while failure could lead to another election and give Benjamin Netanyahu a further chance to form a government.

Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. He may need support from ultra-Orthodox parties, which could seek to preserve exemptions from military service, and Arab parties, which want action on violent crime in Palestinian communities and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank. The next government would also face sharply worsened US views of Israel; the article says Donald Trump announced an end to the annual $3.8bn military aid package, while Eisenkot’s limited public profile and reluctance to speak English could complicate efforts to address perceptions.