Israel's president tasks opposition leader Eisenkot with forming government
Also reported by CBS News
Summary
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has asked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to try to form a coalition after last week’s election left no bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble a government.Key Facts
- Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies won 53 Knesset seats.
- Eisenkot’s Yashar party and three other Jewish opposition parties won 48 seats.
- The United Arab List and Joint List together won 19 seats after Arab voter turnout rose.
- Herzog’s office said Eisenkot received 67 recommendations to lead the government, while Netanyahu received 46.
- The president can choose the person he believes has the best chance of forming a coalition and is not required to choose the leader of the largest party.
- Eisenkot and all but one member of his bloc have previously rejected joining a government with Arab parties.
- Israel has never had a single party win an outright majority, so its governments have been coalitions.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
