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World · Israel after the election

Israel's president picks opposition leader Eisenkot to try to form a government

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, gets 28 days to build a coalition, and Netanyahu warns against a government backed by Arab parties.

Gadi Eisenkot in 2022
Gadi Eisenkot in 2022. Photo: Ronen Horesh, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
26 news outlets reported this
Liberal13 outletsEisenkot's difficult coalition path and Netanyahu's warningsCenter8 outletsNetanyahu's setback and Eisenkot's complicated coalition talksConservative5 outletsEisenkot's 28-day timetable and Netanyahu's warnings
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday that he is giving opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government after the Oct. 27 election. Eisenkot is a former military chief and leads the Yashar party. Neither side won a majority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc took 53 seats, Eisenkot's bloc took 48, and Arab-led parties won a record 19. In consultations with the president, representatives of most parties recommended Eisenkot, and more lawmakers backed him than Netanyahu. Eisenkot is to receive a formal mandate at a ceremony on Sunday.

His time limit to build a coalition is 28 days, plus a possible extension of 14 more. If he fails, Herzog can name another candidate, and if no one succeeds, new elections follow. Netanyahu stays on as until a government is formed.

Shortly before the announcement, Netanyahu called in a video for a "national unity government." He warned against "hastily swearing in a government with terrorist supporters," an apparent reference to Arab-led parties. Eisenkot wrote on X that it is time for a "national emergency government."

Key figures

Three sides of the story

13Liberal8Center5Conservative

26 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal13 outlets

Eisenkot's difficult coalition path and Netanyahu's warnings

Al Jazeera English opens with Herzog "passing over" Netanyahu. It quotes its correspondent Nour Odeh calling the choice "the predictable route" and the Joint List's Ahmad Tibi, who prioritises bringing down Netanyahu's government.

CBS News calls the decision "a setback for Netanyahu," who alleged, "so far without evidence," that some Arab countries interfered. It cites Din Livne, acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee, who wrote that there was "no basis" for claims of a systematic compromise of the election's integrity. The Boston Globe, running a New York Times report, stresses the obstacles.

It lays out Eisenkot's four principles for coalition partners, a likely minority government and Netanyahu's warning of "fires and flames we will see in the streets." It also notes that Eisenkot's son and two nephews died in the Gaza war. MS NOW runs the AP report on Netanyahu's video and on Eisenkot's party Yashar urging members of Likud to disavow their alliance with "radical parties."

Center8 outlets

Netanyahu's setback and Eisenkot's complicated coalition talks

Deutsche Welle leads with the statement from Herzog's office and a section on what happens next. It calls the move "the first step" toward coalition talks that will "almost certainly be complicated," with 28 days and a possible 14-day extension. The Seattle Times, running an AP report, headlines it "in setback for Netanyahu" and quotes Eisenkot's X post about a "national emergency government."

It describes Arab-led parties as "potential but politically fraught kingmakers" and refers to Netanyahu's "unsubstantiated claims" that they "stole" the election. It sets out options of a unity government or a minority government. NewsNation carries the same AP opening.

The Hill reports that Herzog selected Eisenkot, that Netanyahu's coalition lost its majority and that no party got enough seats for one.

Conservative5 outlets

Eisenkot's 28-day timetable and Netanyahu's warnings

The Washington Examiner headlines its report "Herzog picks Israeli opposition leader to form coalition government" and calls the pick a setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It says Eisenkot gets 28 days, with the countdown starting Sunday at 5 p.m. local time, and that Herzog may add 14 more days if needed. It reports that 67 incoming members recommended Eisenkot and 46 recommended Netanyahu.

Seven members of United Torah Judaism did not recommend Netanyahu and signaled they might join a coalition led by Eisenkot. The Examiner adds that Eisenkot has not yet settled on teaming up with the Arab parties, although that would give him a majority of seats. It notes that Netanyahu has not responded directly to Herzog on social media.

His latest X post, the Examiner says, repeated allegations that the Arab parties "want to eliminate" Israel and warned that Eisenkot may "hastily swear in a government, already next week, with terrorism supporters." The Washington Times runs a report under the headline "Israel's president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu."

It opens with Herzog's Saturday-night announcement that Eisenkot has the first opportunity to form a coalition.

All sources: 43 articles from 26 outlets

Liberal (24)

Center (12)

Conservative (7)

Israel after the election
  1. Netanyahu's party claims Israel's election was stolen after his bloc loses majority
  2. Israel's president starts talks on who should form government after deadlocked election
  3. Israel's president picks opposition leader Eisenkot to try to form a governmentThis story
  4. Israeli opposition moves to oust parliament speaker as new Knesset is sworn in
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Knesset

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