Herzog gives Eisenkot Israel mandate with 67 lawmaker endorsements

Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government on Nov. 7, Atlas360 reported, after 67 Knesset members recommended Eisenkot.

The mandate put Eisenkot ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in coalition talks. In a Nov. 6 video message carried by Agence France-Presse via Inquirer, Herzog said 46 lawmakers backed Netanyahu and seven abstained.

“I intend to task a member of Knesset (parliament) with forming the government this coming Sunday,” Herzog said in the video message before the mandate was reported.

The decision followed post-election consultations with all party leaders. In Israel’s parliamentary system, the president assigns a Knesset member to try to build a governing coalition after weighing recommendations from elected factions.

Herzog had received the formal election results on Nov. 4 from Justice Noam Sohlberg, the head of the central elections committee. The Inquirer caption said Herzog urged political leaders that day to compromise after an election he said had no clear winner.

The figures cited by Herzog show the political starting point for the coalition phase rather than the final shape of a government. Eisenkot had more recommendations than Netanyahu, while seven lawmakers declined to recommend either candidate.

Source: Agence France-Presse via Inquirer, Nov. 6; Atlas360 reporting, Nov. 7