Israel’s president on Saturday chose Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest rival, to try to form a new government, Israeli media reported, following a deadlocked election that left neither man with a clear path to power.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is fighting to hold onto office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its majority in an October 27 election but still emerged as the largest bloc in parliament.
An anti-Netanyahu bloc led by Eisenkot, an ex-military chief, has refused to join forces with Arab parties who could hand it a majority. But Arab leaders, angered by policies of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, still nominated Eisenkot during marathon talks with President Isaac Herzog.
