Israeli president to pick PM candidate Sunday as Eisenkot leads Netanyahu in recommendations

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will announce Sunday whom he will task with forming a new government, after opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured 67 parliamentary recommendations versus 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the October 27 election. Herzog noted the mandate traditionally goes to the most-recommended candidate, but cited "mutual vetoes between the blocs" as complicating the decision. Eisenkot's Yashar party called for an "immediate establishment of a national emergency government," while two Arab-majority lists backing Eisenkot hold a potential kingmaker role, though right-wing ally Israel Beiteinu refuses to rely on their support. Ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism declined to recommend Netanyahu, likely to punish him over military service exemptions, while Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats versus 48 for Eisenkot's. The chosen lawmaker will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.