Follow-Up: Eisenkot Formally Receives Mandate, Vows National Emergency Government and Swift Broad Coalition
JERUSALEM - Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, November 8, officially handed Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form Israel's next government at a meeting at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, starting the clock on a 28-day period to build a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. Eisenkot said he would work to form a wide government as quickly as possible and that Israel must form a national emergency government.
Herzog announced his decision on Saturday, November 7, after the October 27 election left both Eisenkot's bloc and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu short of the majority needed to govern. In consultations with the president, factions representing 67 lawmakers recommended Eisenkot, 46 recommended Netanyahu, and seven recommended no one.
According to Reuters, Eisenkot said at the President's Residence on Sunday: 'We are in a state of emergency, approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel.' He added: 'We must form a national emergency government.' He said reaching that goal would require 'creative and extraordinary' political action, and pledged to work to put a wide government together as quickly as possible.
A new government must win the confidence of at least 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats. Although Eisenkot now holds the mandate, it remains uncertain whether his bloc can reach 61 seats, and negotiations could take weeks. Netanyahu remains prime minister until a new government wins a Knesset confidence vote. If Eisenkot fails within the deadline, the president may assign the task to another lawmaker or inform the Speaker that no one appears able to form a government.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：以色列 Yashar 党领导人 Gadi Eisenkot 肖像（其办公室发言人供图）。图片来源：Yahav Trudler（Yahav Studio）摄，经 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。 / Photo: Portrait of Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Israel's Yashar party (photo released by his spokesperson's office). Source: Yahav Trudler (Yahav Studio) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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