Israel’s president taps Eisenkot to form government, in setback for Netanyahu

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday night that he was giving opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a governing coalition following elections on October 27.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading a bloc of parties seeking to oust Israel’s longest-serving premier.

Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu won a clear majority in the vote. But in marathon discussions with the president this week, representatives from most of Israel’s main parties recommended Eisenkot be tasked with assembling a new government.

The announcement, which had been expected on Sunday, came shortly after Netanyahu called for a “national unity government” in a video statement and warned against “hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters” – an apparent reference to the Arab-led parties.

Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly portrayed the Arab-led parties as a threat to national security, while Eisenkot has indicated a willingness to partner with them under certain conditions, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed.

Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, slammed the prime minister’s video with a statement posted on social media and urged members of his party, Likud, to disavow their alliance with “radical parties”, in an apparent reference to the more extreme parties in his religious-nationalist base.

The statement argued that Eisenkot would include only parties and parliament members who supported its principles, including recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation.