Israel: Gadi Eisenkot to get President's invite to form new govt
In a major debacle to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has picked Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government in the state.
Tel Aviv: In a major debacle to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has picked Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government in the state.
Herzog came to this decision after holding consultations with different political parties.
Herzog is set to officially handover to Gadi Eisenkot the invitation to form the new government at a special ceremony to be held today at 05:00 PM (local time).
The 2026 national election in Israel has ended without a clear winner. The Netanyahu-led ruling bloc had won 53 of the 120 Knesset seats.
However, the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party having 07 KMs, ditched Netanyahu and declined him the party’s support. The party informed the party’s decision during the consultation with Herzog. Netanyahu group’s strength in the Israeli Parliament hence got reduced to 46.
On the other hand, Eisenkot-led opposition had won 48 seats in the October 2026 elections, and received supports from Arab parties – the Joint List and Ra’am. The Arab parties have together won 19 seats.
The support from the Arab parties Eisenkot received takes his tally to 67 – well past the 61 needed to form a government.
According to the local media reports, Gadi Eisenkot is also consulting with United Torah Judaism and other parties, including Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, to seek their support.
There are reports that a number of KMs in the Likud party are unhappy with Netanyahu and don’t want to be part of any government which is led by him. Netanyahu is currently working as caretaker Prime Minister.
The Likud party members are upset with Netanyahu because as Prime Minister since last two decades he had thrown Israel into three wars, and is now facing arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed against the Palestinians in Gaze and other occupied lands. He is also facing various corruption cases in Israel.
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