Israeli President Isaac Herzog has officially tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, with forming a new Israeli government to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.

 

The mandate followed consultations held by Herzog with parliamentary blocs and parties represented in the Knesset. The consultations showed that Eisenkot received the recommendations of 67 lawmakers, compared with 46 who backed Netanyahu for the task, while seven lawmakers abstained from endorsing any candidate.

 

Under Israeli law, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension.

 

Benjamin Netanyahu had called for the formation of a national unity government in Israel, bringing together all parties belonging to the national camp and Zionist parties, describing such a coalition as “the will of the people and an urgent necessity.”

 

Speaking to the press on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said: “A government that relies on Hamas supporters will not fight Hamas, and a government that relies on those who hate Judaism will not preserve Israel as a Jewish state.”

 

He added that such a government would lead to Israel’s internal disintegration, warning that the country “would not survive” under an administration of that kind.

 

“There is only one option: not national suicide, but national unity,” Netanyahu said, calling for a unity government that includes all parties in the national camp and Zionist parties.

 

He also urged against rushing the formation of a new government, ahead of the Israeli president’s announcement of the candidate tasked with forming it.