Israeli President Isaac Herzog has officially tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government. Eisenkot, who heads the centrist party Yashar, is to assemble a coalition within 28 days. According to the report, he announced that he would lead Israel out of the crisis.
The mandate was granted about two weeks after the parliamentary election. This marks the start of the formal phase of coalition negotiations, in which a candidate for prime minister must rally a parliamentary majority behind him. Eisenkot faces the task of winning reliable partners from a fragmented party landscape.
It remains open whether Eisenkot will succeed in securing the necessary support in parliament. The possible coalition partners are not named in the report, nor are the conditions under which they would be willing to cooperate. It is also uncertain whether the 28-day deadline can be extended should no agreement be reached.
The transfer of the mandate to the opposition politician marks an important step in Israel's political reorganization after the election. Whether it leads to a stable government will become clear in the coming weeks.