Summary
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he will ask opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition lost its parliamentary majority. Eisenkot has 28 days to build a coalition, but divisions among potential partners could prevent him from succeeding.Key Facts
- Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats in the Oct. 27 election.
- Netanyahu’s coalition won 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, leaving it short of a majority.
- Eisenkot’s bloc won 48 seats.
- Two Arab parties, which won 19 seats combined, backed Eisenkot’s bid.
- Sixty-seven Knesset members recommended Eisenkot to form a government, compared with 46 who recommended Netanyahu.
- United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox party allied with Netanyahu, did not endorse him and indicated it might join an Eisenkot-led coalition.
- Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government.
