Netanyahu's coalition prospects fade as rival Eisenkot gains majority support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position weakened Thursday as an ultra-Orthodox party withheld support and two Arab-led parties endorsed his rival Gadi Eisenkot, complicating his bid to remain in power. President Isaac Herzog must decide by November 11 which candidate to pick to form a government after the October 27 election ended in deadlock. Eisenkot now has backing from a comfortable majority of lawmakers, though both he and Netanyahu have ruled out forming a coalition with the Arab-led parties. Netanyahu's Likud won 27 seats, but his religious-nationalist coalition holds only 53 of 120 total. Netanyahu has cast doubt on election results amid an integrity investigation, while critics accuse him of undermining democratic processes.