Israel’s president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu
Eisenkot, who ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is now a step closer to ousting Israel's longest-serving premier.
TL;DR
- President Isaac Herzog has tasked opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel's next government.
- Eisenkot has six weeks to build a coalition, a difficult task in a divided country.
- Netanyahu and his allies lost their parliamentary majority in the recent elections.
- Potential alliances with Arab-led parties are politically sensitive but may be necessary for Eisenkot.
- Netanyahu has campaigned against potential alliances between Eisenkot and Arab-led parties.
- Eisenkot's party has criticized Netanyahu's calls for a national unity government and urged Likud to distance itself from 'radical parties'.
- Key differences exist between Eisenkot and Netanyahu on issues such as draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men and investigations into security failures.