Israel's President Taps Eisenkot to Form Government After Netanyahu Meeting

President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday evening that he intends to task Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the National Unity Party, with forming the next government. The official mandate ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at 5:00 PM at the President's Residence. Eisenkot, who received recommendations from 67 Knesset members, will have 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension. This decision follows meetings Herzog held with Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend. Netanyahu, who was recommended by 46 Knesset members, had earlier released a video proposing a unity government with "change bloc" parties, a shift from his previous calls for a "broad national government." He emphasized the need for national unity, stating it was the "will of the people and the need of the hour," but insisted he would not abandon his bloc. Eisenkot's party responded to Netanyahu's proposal, calling it a "hysterical speech" and stating they would only consider a unity government if Netanyahu publicly disavowed "extremists" in his bloc, accepted Eisenkot's four principles, and agreed to serve under Eisenkot as prime minister. Netanyahu, in his video, accused Eisenkot of planning to form a government reliant on Arab parties, which he claimed would be detrimental to Israel's security and Jewish identity. He argued such a government, dependent on "terror supporters" and "haters of Judaism," would not combat Iran, protect soldiers, or maintain Israel as a Jewish state, instead causing internal division. The National Unity Party countered that Netanyahu, who they accused of systematically dividing Israeli society, only invoked "unity" when his time in office was ending. They criticized his past actions, including forming the "October 7th government" with Itamar Ben-Gvir against his own promises, and accused him of cynically using the concept of unity while working against it.