Eisenkot Wins 67 Backers to Form Israeli Government, Dealing Netanyahu a Setback
Updated
Updated · CNN · Nov 7
Eisenkot Wins 67 Backers to Form Israeli Government, Dealing Netanyahu a Setback
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Nov 7
Summary
President Isaac Herzog will formally give Gadi Eisenkot the mandate on Sunday after 67 incoming Knesset members recommended him, versus 46 for Benjamin Netanyahu.
Six weeks is the maximum window for Eisenkot to turn that paper majority into a coalition, starting with 28 days and a possible 14-day extension before the mandate could pass to Netanyahu.
48 seats are held by the four Jewish opposition parties Eisenkot wants in a minority 'national emergency government,' with Arab parties potentially supporting it from outside because his conditions bar them from the cabinet.
Avigdor Liberman is the main obstacle: he rejects any government reliant on Arab parties and instead floated a 61-seat coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties, clashing with the opposition's pledge to end draft exemptions.
Tuesday's Knesset swearing-in is Eisenkot's first power test, as the opposition tries to replace Netanyahu's speaker and loosen the caretaker premier's grip while Netanyahu presses for a unity government with his bloc.