Eisenkot nominated for Israeli prime minister: “We will form a national emergency government”

Yasar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff who was given the authority to form a coalition government with the support of the Israeli opposition coalition and Arab political parties, defined the current situation as an emergency and promised to form a 'national emergency government'.

After receiving official government authority from President Yitzhak Herzog at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on the 8th (local time), Representative Eisenkot said, “Israel is currently facing a difficult and serious emergency.”

He diagnosed, “The battlefield is still open, and at the same time, we are in the midst of a fatal diplomatic crisis.”

He added, "I promise to lead the formation of a 'national emergency government' based on the authority granted today," and added, "To achieve this, creative and extraordinary political action will be required."

Representative Eisenkot added, “Israel can no longer afford to waste time or repeat endless election battles.”

The opposition coalition led by Eisenkot secured 48 of the 120 Knesset (parliament) seats in the general election held on the 27th of last month.

Although it lacks a majority of 13 seats, it was given the authority to form a government first, beating the right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the support of Arab parties that secured 19 seats.

Eisenkot will conduct negotiations on forming a coalition government for the next four weeks (28 days), and if necessary, the deadline can be extended by another 14 days.

If Eisenkot fails to form a coalition during this period, the president can hand over the authority to form a coalition to another candidate or dissolve Congress and hold a new election.

Negotiations to form Eisenkot's coalition government are expected to be difficult due to differences of opinion within the opposition coalition surrounding Arab and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Yisrael Beitenu, a right-wing party within the opposition bloc, is openly rejecting solidarity with the Arab community and is instead arguing that cooperation should be sought with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that have been Prime Minister Netanyahu's allies.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is suggesting the possibility of forming a joint government with Eisenkot, while also pursuing a strategy to attract right-wing parties within the opposition bloc as allies.