Israel's president authorizes opposition leaders to form government, Prime Minister Netanyahu faces pressure to step down

(Central News Agency, Jerusalem, 7th Comprehensive Foreign News Report) After Israel held a parliamentary election last month, President Herzog announced today that he would give priority to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s political rival Eisenkot to form a new government. Netanyahu's opponents see it as the first step in unseating Israel's longest-serving prime minister.

Agence France-Presse reported that political newcomer Gadi Eisenkot, who once served as Israel's chief of staff, has been trying to win support from secular and liberal people.

His opposition camp has opened the door to an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews, a once-impossible alliance that could give the opposition enough seats to form a coalition government.

Eisenkot posted a response on the social platform X: "Now is the time to organize a national emergency government. I will do everything I can to ensure that we live up to our trust."

President Isaac Herzog said he would give Eisenkot the first chance to form a government after the election after consulting with all political parties this week.

Israel is deeply divided by the hard-right rule of Benjamin Netanyahu and exhausted by the three-year war. In this election, neither camp obtained a majority of the seats in the parliament.