Israel’s Herzog Tasks Gadi Eisenkot With Forming Government Over Netanyahu

The appointment gives Eisenkot, a former military chief, a formal opportunity to assemble a governing coalition and potentially replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The mandate followed an election, according to the Korea Herald, although the supplied reports do not identify the election results or set out the exact balance of forces in the Knesset.

Al Jazeera reports that Herzog assigned Eisenkot 28 days to secure 61 Knesset seats. That requirement makes coalition-building the immediate test of the appointment, but the available reports do not establish whether Eisenkot will reach the threshold within the allotted period.

The potential parliamentary path remains politically complicated. The Hindu reported that Eisenkot had declined to join forces with Arab parties, whose support could have provided a parliamentary majority. The report does not establish the full composition of the bloc now backing him or explain whether that position has changed since the mandate was issued.

A separate possibility has emerged within the opposition camp. The Korea Herald reported that Eisenkot’s bloc had opened the door to an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, an arrangement that could provide enough numbers to form a coalition. The supplied evidence does not establish which parties would participate or whether such an alliance can be completed.

Herzog’s decision therefore creates a formal challenge to Netanyahu’s position, while leaving the outcome unresolved. The reports confirm Eisenkot’s mandate and describe possible coalition routes, but they do not establish that he will succeed in forming a government within the 28-day period.