Eisenkot Officially Tasked with Forming New Israeli Government

Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog has officially tasked Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the "Yeshar" party, with forming the new government after securing the support of 67 Knesset members amid deep political divisions. Herzog summoned Eisenkot to the presidential residence at 5 PM on Sunday for the formal government formation ceremony. According to the Basic Law, Eisenkot has a 28-day period to form the government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension if necessary. An official statement from the presidential office indicated that Herzog held in-depth talks with various political factions in recent days and met with current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yeshar leader to inform them of his decision. 67 Knesset members recommended Eisenkot, while 46 supported the current prime minister, and the "Yahadut HaTorah" party, consisting of 7 members, did not endorse any candidate. Separately, officials close to U.S. President Donald Trump urged Eisenkot to form a new government and replace Netanyahu immediately, calling on him to take the oath of office promptly. In a Saturday evening speech, Netanyahu called for a national unity government including all Zionist parties, opposing reliance on Arab parties, and described attempts to form a government supported by adversaries as a threat to the state. Eisenkot responded by stating that Netanyahu never honored political agreements, noting his own history of forming unity and emergency governments and criticizing Netanyahu's actions that undermine these governments internally. The Likud party and its members were urged to publicly dissolve their alliance with extremists and accept the four principles proposed by Netanyahu, expressing readiness to join a government under his leadership if they desire unity and a broad coalition, while describing Netanyahu’s statements as a mere media maneuver at this stage.