Israel's president taps opposition candidate, not Netanyahu, to form a government

Gadi Eisenkot ran as the main rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but neither won enough support to command a majority. Israel's main parties have recommended Eisenkot form a new government.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5616x3744+0+0/resize/5616x3744!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcf%2F77%2F67a1bd07484b844a6a8d15b90a17%2Fap26301008182475.jpg' alt='Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, waves an Israeli flag onstage last month <br>in Tel Aviv following the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election.'/><p>Gadi Eisenkot ran as the main rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but neither won enough support to command a majority. Israel's main parties have recommended Eisenkot form a new government.</p><p>(Image credit: Ariel Schalit)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-152536' />