Netanyahu rival Eisenkot tapped to form Israeli government

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

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