Eisenkot open to Netanyahu joining Israel’s next government

What the report says

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has formally asked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to try to assemble the next government, following Israel’s October 27 election results, according to Al Jazeera. Eisenkot’s bloc won 48 seats, while Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious camp took 53, leaving both short of the 61-seat majority needed in the Knesset.

In remarks at the handover ceremony in Jerusalem, Eisenkot said he would be open to bringing Netanyahu into a coalition and also suggested that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich could be included. He said he wants to act in the public interest and represent all parts of Israeli society. Herzog warned that Israel needs a stable government, citing uncertainty after the November 3 midterm elections in the United States and what he described as a changed political environment there.

Al Jazeera reported that Eisenkot, a former military chief and former observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet during the Gaza war, has six weeks to build a coalition. Arab-led parties, which won a record 19 seats, backed Eisenkot for the mandate, though he has ruled out forming a government with them. A deal with the ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas could give him a bare majority. If Eisenkot fails, Netanyahu could be next in line to try, or Israel could return to elections.