Israeli president Herzog deliberates after Eisenkot receives majority Knesset backing to become prime minister

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot has received the backing of a majority of Knesset members to be prime minister, possibly granting him the mandate to attempt to form the next government. Eisenkot received 67 recommendations compared with 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Yashar party urged Israeli president Isaac Herzog on Thursday to hand Eisenkot the mandate to form the next government "as soon as possible", adding that its the largest number of recommendations given to a candidate for forming a government since 2015. "Benjamin Netanyahu is a caretaker prime minister leading a minority of just 46 seats," the party said. "He has no mandate, no majority and no public trust." While Herzog expressed that the result was "clear", he indicated that he would hold further talks with party leaders to clarify the situation before assigning the mandate to form a government on Sunday.