Eisenkot given mandate to form Israeli government, CBC reports

The former military chief has 28 days to assemble a coalition after Netanyahu's governing bloc lost its majority.

Channel: CBC News ·

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Israel's president chooses Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's rival, to form new government

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Herzog gives Eisenkot the task of forming Israel's next coalition government.
0:44Tel Aviv demonstrators urge political factions to assemble an Eisenkot-led coalition without delay.
1:01The anchor says Eisenkot has 28 days to put a coalition together.
3:12Former ambassador Jon Allen contrasts Eisenkot's public persona with Netanyahu's.
4:26Allen predicts changes in West Bank policy and no independent Israeli attack on Iran without renewed U.S. action.
6:13The discussion turns to U.S.-Israel relations, American aid debates and the U.S. midterm elections.

Gadi Eisenkot has been asked to turn an election setback for Benjamin Netanyahu into a new Israeli government. President Isaac Herzog has chosen the former military chief to attempt to assemble a coalition, Canada's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) News reports.

The mandate follows the loss of Netanyahu's coalition majority in the October 27 election. It is an opportunity to form a government, not confirmation that Eisenkot has secured one. The report says he has 28 days to bring the necessary parties together.

Footage from Tel Aviv shows demonstrators urging Eisenkot and other political factions to reach an agreement without delay. Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, served as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019 and later joined Israel's unity government as a minister without portfolio.

Speaking from Kfar Blum in northern Israel, former Canadian ambassador Jon Allen describes the mandate as a significant challenge to Netanyahu's long dominance of Israeli politics. He contrasts Eisenkot's public persona with that of the prime minister, saying: "Gadi Eisenkot is the opposite of Prime Minister Netanyahu."

Allen also sketches what he believes a change of government could mean beyond coalition negotiations. He predicts an end to settler violence in the West Bank under an Eisenkot-led administration. On Iran, he argues that Israel would not launch an attack unless the United States decided to attack again. These are Allen's expectations of a prospective government, rather than policies announced by an established coalition.

The interview also considers Gaza policy and the U.S.-Israel relationship, including American aid debates and the U.S. midterm elections. But the immediate task in the report remains domestic: Eisenkot must convert Herzog's mandate into an agreement among parties.

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