Eisenkot Gets the Mandate. Lebanon's Stalled Framework Gets a New Test.
Israel's president tapped Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest rival to build a government. For the U.S.-brokered Lebanon framework, the record so far says a new face in Jerusalem won't mean a softer line on Hezbollah.
By Clara Hughes
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has picked Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party and a former military chief of staff, to try to form Israel's next government. Herzog's office said he told Eisenkot on Saturday night "of his intention to task him with forming a government," with the formal appointment set for a ceremony on Sunday at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, according to The Guardian and The Jerusalem Post. As this was written, that ceremony had not yet taken place. The numbers explain the choice. Parties representing 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot during Herzog's consultations, against 46 for Netanyahu's bloc, Al Jazeera reported, citing the president's office. In the 120-seat Knesset, that leaves seven who backed neither man. But recommendations are not a governing majority. In the October 27 election, Eisenkot's four-party alliance won 48 seats and Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc won 53, leaving both short of the 61 needed, according to Al Jazeera. Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats, and both Arab-majority lists endorsed Eisenkot, The Guardian reported. Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with the Arab-led parties; winning over the two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would