Israel's Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot has secured the backing of 67 members of the Knesset to receive the mandate to form Israel's next government. This has also put him ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, despite the strong endorsement, Eisenkot faces a difficult task in building a coalition. Several parties that are backing his candidature are also unwilling to join his government.
Eisenkot secured the support during consultations with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday, after the Arab-led Joint List unanimously decided to recommend him for the prime ministerial mandate. He has reiterated his goal of forming a "national emergency government" to bring political stability to Israel.
In a post on X, Eisenkot said the first round of discussions with the opposition parties had concluded with an absolute majority of recommendations in his favour. He, however, acknowledged that the road to forming a government remained long.
"First round of talks and meetings this week with the Change and Repair parties. This evening, the round of consultations at the President's Residence was completed with an absolute majority of recommenders…