Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday that he will task Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Yashar party, with forming a new government, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why it matters: Eisenkot will have 28 days to establish a new government. This is the closest Netanyahu has been to losing power since 2021, but deep divisions could still prevent them from forming a government.
Driving the news: Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats in the Oct. 27 election, but his coalition lost its majority, winning just 53 of the 120 seats in parliament.
- Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats, but the two Arab parties, which won 19 seats, backed his bid to form a government.
- During consultations held earlier this week, 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot to form the new government, while only 46 recommended Netanyahu.
- United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox ally of Netanyahu, declined to endorse him and signaled it could join an Eisenkot-led coalition.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates