Government leaders
Israel president taps Eisenkot to form new government
Israel's president announced on Saturday he would task Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government following last week's election, in what Netanyahu's rivals see as a first step to remove the country's longest-serving prime minister. The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot, a former military chief and political newcomer who has tried to appeal to secular and liberal Israelis, has opened the door to a once improbable alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews, which could give it the numbers to form a coalition.