Israel's Eisenkot gets mandate to try forming new government
Eisenkot has 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension, while Netanyahu remains caretaker until a new cabinet is sworn in.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form a government on Sunday, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.
The move gives Eisenkot, a former military chief, a chance to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing coalition lost its parliamentary majority in the October election.
Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar party, received recommendations from 67 of the 120 lawmakers in the Knesset, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.
At the ceremony, Herzog urged the country to unite behind a government that would be durable.
Eisenkot said Israel had reached a dangerous juncture, arguing that its goals in several conflicts had not been achieved, its international ties were in deep crisis and its democracy faced one of its most serious tests.
"If we keep going this way, we may not be able to turn back," he said, calling for leaders people can trust.
Eisenkot said he believed a new government with a solid majority in the Knesset was achievable, and he said he would welcome Likud and the far-right Religious Zionist Party under his leadership if they backed his principles.
He said he intended to serve as prime minister for all Israelis, including those who did not vote for him.
Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension, and Netanyahu will stay caretaker prime minister until a successor is sworn in.
His four-party alliance holds 48 seats, so it would need support from Arab lawmakers or other parties to govern.
On Saturday, Netanyahu called for a national unity government, while Eisenkot's party said Likud could join a government he leads if it dropped its far-right allies.
