Eisenkot Faces Uphill Battle To Replace Netanyahu as Israel’s President Hands Him Mandate To Form Government

Israel’s President officially tasked Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new government as the former IDF chief said he was under no “illusion” about the complexity of the road ahead. President Isaac Herzog formally handed Mr. Eisenkot the mandate at his residence in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying that while he was aware that Prime Minister Netanyhau’s Likud party emerged as the largest following the elections, 67 members of Knesset recommended Mr. Eisenkot got the first shot at forming a government. “The State of Israel needs a stable government that can meet them over time. This is the time to reach out a hand, to do everything for the unity of our people, and to strive for the best and most stable government possible for the people of Israel, which yearns for it,” Mr. Herzog told Mr. Eisenkot. “Yashar Leader Gadi Eisenkot, I expect you to do everything in your power to establish a government that will serve the entire people, those who supported it and those who did not, and that will be a responsible and decent address for all sectors, faiths, ways of life, and worldviews,” he added. Mr. Eisenkot said he “under no illusions. The task facing my partners and me is extraordinarily complex. We find ourselves in what is probably the most complex and sensitive political situation since Israel was founded.”The former IDF chief, who has refused to sit in a government with Mr. Netanyahu as prime minister, reached out to members of his Likud party, calling on them to join him in a unity government. “For me, unity is neither a political bargaining chip nor a hollow trick… If the members of Likud and the Religious Zionist Party truly believe this is a time for unity, as they told the President, I cannot conceive of a reason why they would not support a government under my leadership and the principles I have presented,” he said. “To all parliamentary factions and elected representatives: my door is open, and my hand is extended, wholeheartedly and willingly, to everyone who understands the gravity of this moment and is prepared to take a courageous step for the State of Israel,” he added. Mr. Eisenkot’s chances of forming a minority government with outside support from the Arab parties have significantly decreased after Yisrael Beitenu, a right-wing opposition party, said they wouldn’t support it as it would “survive less than a year.”Yisrael Beitenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman has, however, opened the door to the ultra-orthodox parties by accepting a potential compromise on a draft law. Dismissing reports in Israeli media about secret negotiations and deals made between Yisrael Beitenu and ultra-orthodox parties, Mr. Lieberman said any draft law would have to be accepted by the Supreme Court. He added that members of parliament must “act immediately to replace the Speaker of the Knesset, appoint a State Comptroller, pass a law limiting the prime minister to two terms only, and then repeal the laws of the judicial overhaul. That is the right order of priorities.”

Eisenkot Faces Uphill Battle To Replace Netanyahu as Israel’s President Hands Him Mandate To Form Government

Eisenkot Faces Uphill Battle To Replace Netanyahu as Israel’s President Hands Him Mandate To Form Government

More from the New York Sun

Trump Rules Out Escalating War With Iran for Now as Rubio Warns Tehran’s Demands Are ‘Outrageous’

Conservative Republican Bloc Seeks Midterm Autopsy Before Tuesday’s Senate Leadership Election

Warmed-Over Economic Populism Would Be a Dead End for the GOP

It Behooves Conservatives To Stymie JD Vance’s Presidential Ambitions

Andy Warhol — Before His First 15 Minutes of Fame

Anthropic Bets Its Smartest Model Will Set Claude Duet Apart

‘Wanted’: How the West Was Overwrought

Alexander the Great Conquered the World — and Left It in Ruins

More from the New York Sun

Trump Rules Out Escalating War With Iran for Now as Rubio Warns Tehran’s Demands Are ‘Outrageous’

Conservative Republican Bloc Seeks Midterm Autopsy Before Tuesday’s Senate Leadership Election

Warmed-Over Economic Populism Would Be a Dead End for the GOP

It Behooves Conservatives To Stymie JD Vance’s Presidential Ambitions

Andy Warhol — Before His First 15 Minutes of Fame

Anthropic Bets Its Smartest Model Will Set Claude Duet Apart

‘Wanted’: How the West Was Overwrought

Alexander the Great Conquered the World — and Left It in Ruins