Herzog taps Eisenkot to assemble Israel's next government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot will receive the mandate to form Israel's next government. Eisenkot, a former chief of the IDF, now has 28 days to put a coalition together, with a possible 14-day extension if he needs it. The clock starts the moment the mandate lands in his hands.

The numbers behind the pick were never close. National broadcaster Kan reported that 67 incoming Knesset members recommended Eisenkot for prime minister, while 46 threw their weight behind current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among those backing Eisenkot was the Joint List, Israel's largest Arab party, which said it decided unanimously to recommend him and brings 11 seats to the new Knesset.

Eisenkot hasn't been shy about what he wants to build. He floated a 'national emergency' government on Friday, saying the country is in a 'true, dangerous and tangible state of emergency,' and accused Netanyahu's government of threatening 'at the most fundamental level, the very existence of Israeli democracy' by rejecting the election results. He's offered a place to any Knesset member who signs on to his four principles, among them recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Herzog had telegraphed the move. He told reporters Thursday that he would reveal who gets the mandate on Sunday, after wrapping up consultations with every party elected to the Knesset. Kan had reported even earlier that Eisenkot could be asked to form a government before the new Knesset was sworn in on Tuesday, November 10.

Now the real grind begins. Eisenkot must turn recommendations into a working majority inside 28 days, leaning on the same bloc that put him over the top. If he can't close the deal, an extension buys him two more weeks — and then the mandate goes back to Herzog.