Former Israeli Military Chief Tasked With Forming New Government Following Election

Former Israeli military chief and Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot has been officially asked to form a new coalition government. According to reports from ABC News and France 24, Mr Eisenkot met with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Sunday to receive his formal invitation to begin coalition negotiations.

The mandate follows a round of consultations held by President Herzog with representatives from all political parties that secured seats in the recent election. Parties were asked to endorse either Mr Eisenkot or incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lead the two largest parties in the incoming Knesset.

Anti-Netanyahu parties across the political spectrum, which included two Arab-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli parties, provided Mr Eisenkot with a total of 67 endorsements in the 120-seat Knesset. Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu secured 46 votes from most of his current coalition partners. An additional ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism, chose not to endorse either candidate despite having previously supported the incumbent prime minister for four years.

Securing these initial endorsements places Mr Eisenkot in the primary position to attempt to form a government and succeed Mr Netanyahu. However, reports note that forming a functioning administration will require significant political manoeuvring and creative arithmetic.

Mr Eisenkot now has up to six weeks to conduct negotiations with potential coalition partners and secure a parliamentary majority. While mathematical paths exist, analysts point out that bridging long-standing policy differences and grievances among the diverse anti-Netanyahu bloc may present substantial challenges.