Israel’s president picks Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to form government

Knesset has been deadlocked since election last month when Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition lost its majority

Israel’s president has ⁠chosen Gadi Eisenkot, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ⁠strongest rival, to ⁠try to form a new government, following a deadlocked election that left neither man ⁠with a clear path to power.

Isaac Herzog’s office said he had informed Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party, on Saturday night “of his intention to task him with forming a government”

It added that the formal appointment would take place in an official ceremony on Sunday at the president’s residence in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu is fighting to hold on to office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its majority in an election on 27 October but still emerged as the largest bloc in parliament.