Eisenkot Gets 28 Days to Form Israel Government After Vote Deadlock
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MENAFNEisenkot accepted the mandate in a meeting with Herzog at the presidential residence in West Jerusalem, the country’s public broadcaster reported.
The decision came after Herzog consulted the parties seated in the Knesset. Sixty-seven lawmakers endorsed Eisenkot, 46 named Netanyahu, and seven refused to back either man.
Eisenkot now has 28 days to build a coalition, a window the president can extend by as many as 14 days.
At the ceremony, Herzog said Eisenkot had demonstrated clear backing to form a cabinet. He argued that Israel requires a “stable government,” and urged the incoming leadership to unify the public, carry on with the 20-point plan for the Gaza Strip, hold talks with regional states, react to developments in the US and resolve the dispute over military conscription.
Warning of a national emergency
Eisenkot said he was assuming the assignment “out of a deep sense of duty and an awareness of the weight of the responsibility,” and cautioned that the country was confronting “a critical national emergency.”
“The objectives of the war have yet to be achieved, while we face a serious political and diplomatic crisis,” he said, noting that even Israel’s closest allies were pressing for a rethink of their ties with it.
“Israel is going through one of the most difficult periods in its democratic history. If the current situation continues, it could deteriorate to the point of no return,” Eisenkot said, insisting that fresh leadership was needed without delay.
He vowed to pursue a “national emergency government,” arguing that the country could afford neither more delay nor a new election.
“Israel needs a change of course after the difficult years it has been through,” he added.
He extended an invitation to Netanyahu’s Likud party and to the Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He did not mention Jewish Power, headed by the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Concessions required
In a statement from his office following the handover, Eisenkot said he would reach out to every faction in the Knesset and ask them to help form a government, on condition that they accept four principles. The statement did not spell those principles out.
Not every campaign promise could be kept, he said, and parties would need to give ground on both sides to reach a deal.
Eisenkot described unity as “a core value grounded in genuine partnership,” and said his door was open and his hand extended to anyone who grasped the gravity of the moment and was prepared to act for Israel.
He also kept open the option of a government backed by the United Arab List (Ra’am) and the Joint List, as he works to widen his parliamentary support.
“Anyone who tries to obstruct the formation of a government for personal rather than substantive reasons will go down in history as someone who failed to save Israel in its hour of emergency,” he said.
Eisenkot said he believed a government could be formed “despite the complexity of the task” and voiced confidence that his prospective partners recognized the seriousness of the situation and the pressing need for a new cabinet. Their experience and abilities, he said, were vital to “steering Israel to safety.”
He further stated that 74 Knesset members had expressed no confidence in Netanyahu’s government continuing. He gave no further detail.
Despite the 67 endorsements, Eisenkot’s bloc does not hold a majority on its own. Reaching one will demand deals with other parties, among them Arab parties, whose possible entry into the coalition has split his camp.
If Eisenkot misses the deadline, the president may assign another lawmaker the task. That person would get 28 days with no extension. Should no government emerge in that period, a majority of Knesset members may put forward one of their colleagues to attempt to form a government within a further 14 days, under the procedures set out in law.
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