Israel’s Gadi Eisenkot gets chance to form government after election deadlock

Herzog has informed Eisenkot of his decision, which will be formally announced on Sunday.

In last week's election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition was slightly larger than the opposition coalition led by Gadi Eisenkot, but neither bloc won a majority.

The Arab-Israeli opposition thus became the kingmaker, and Israel's largest Arab party alliance, the Joint List, said this week that it wants Eisenkot to be given the mandate to form a government.

At Sunday's ceremony, which begins at 4 p.m. local time in Sweden, the opposition leader will be given 28 days to try to form a government.

"I will do everything in my power to show that we deserve the chance," Eisenkot wrote in an initial comment on X.