Gadi Eisenkot officially gets first chance to form Israel’s next government

Israeli opposition leader and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot was on Sunday formally tasked by President Isaac Herzog with forming the country's next government after the October 27 parliamentary elections resulted in a fractured mandate.This came a day after Herzog designated Eisenkot, the main challenger to outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to form the next government.With the mandate now formally in his hands, the Yashar party leader will begin complicated negotiations with potential coalition partners. He will have up to six weeks to form a government.Speaking after formally receiving the mandate, Eisenkot laid out several “preconditions” for parties seeking to join his potential government."The conditions are support for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, for its declaration of independence, for military or national service, and recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation," The Associated Press quoted him as saying."I want a leadership that people can trust, that will act in the interests of the public and that represents all parts of society," he added.Also Read: Is Netanyahu's time up? 10 things to know as rival Gadi Eisenkot gets shot at power in IsraelNeither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot secured a majority in the election. The Netanyahu-led coalition saw its strength fall from a peak of 68 seats in the 120-member Knesset to just 53. The opposition bloc, led by Eisenkot, won 48 seats, while Arab-led parties secured the remaining 19.However, following consultations last week, Herzog concluded that the former army chief had the strongest chance of forming a coalition, as Arab-led parties had expressed their willingness to support him.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.