Herzog to Choose Israel Government Mandate-Holder Sunday

After Israel’s October 27 election left parliament without a clear governing majority, President Isaac Herzog said he would decide on Sunday who gets the mandate to form a government. Gadi Eisenkot received recommendations from 67 lawmakers, compared with 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his Yashar party urged Herzog to appoint him, while Ra’am and the Arab-led Joint List also backed him. Joint List lawmakers said they were willing to support an anti-Netanyahu government without joining it, while Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said his party believed Eisenkot could build a stable, broad coalition, potentially including ultra-Orthodox parties. Abbas supported disarming Hamas but declined to explicitly call it a terrorist organization, objecting to what he described as repeated tests of Ra’am’s loyalty. Herzog cited mutual vetoes between parties as a challenge to forming a coalition; the person selected will have 28 days, with a possible two-week extension, while Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister.