World · Society
Seven dead and over 100 hurt as two trains collide south of Cairo
Two passenger trains collided in Giza province on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 100. President al-Sisi has ordered an investigation.
Monday 9 November 2026Morning Brief, 9 November 2026 · 09:15 CAT
Zambia and the world, three times a day
Middle East · Politics · Israel Source-checked
Israel’s president asks Gadi Eisenkot, not Netanyahu, to try to form the next government
President Isaac Herzog has given former military chief Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to build a coalition after last month's deadlocked election. He has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension.
Key facts
- Herzog announced the choice on Saturday 7 November, after consulting parties following the 27 October election.
- Netanyahu's camp won 53 of the 120 seats and Eisenkot's bloc won 48, so neither has the 61 needed.
- Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, and the president can add 14 days.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has chosen Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, to try to form the country’s next government. The announcement came on Saturday 7 November, after a week of talks with the parties that won seats in the 27 October election.
The vote left no clear winner. According to the BBC and DW, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party and three other Jewish opposition parties won 48. A government needs 61 seats. Two Arab-led alliances, the United Arab List and the Joint List, together won 19 seats, which the BBC says makes them potential kingmakers.
The president’s office said that after meeting delegations from the incoming members of parliament, Eisenkot received 67 recommendations for prime minister and Netanyahu received 46, as reported by the BBC. France 24 notes that Eisenkot’s bloc has refused to join forces with Arab parties, yet Arab leaders still nominated him. Netanyahu has ruled out working with Arab parties, according to DW.
Eisenkot wrote on X that it is time to form what he called a national emergency government and that he would do everything to be worthy of the task. DW reports that a formal ceremony at the president’s residence is planned for Sunday.
Under the process described by DW, Eisenkot has 28 days to gather the 61 votes. Herzog can grant a 14-day extension. If he fails, the mandate must be offered to someone else, and if no candidate succeeds, Israel would head to fresh elections. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, remains in office while the talks go on. Coalition talks are expected to be difficult, because they would involve both Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties.
Why it matters
For the first time in this long deadlock, the person trying to form a government is not Netanyahu. Whether Eisenkot can build a majority will decide who leads Israel and whether voters are sent back to the polls.
What remains uncertain
It is not yet clear whether Eisenkot can reach 61 seats, or whether any Arab party would formally back a government he leads. The formal ceremony had not taken place when we read the reports. The BBC describes the election as last week, while France 24 gives the date as 27 October, so we use the France 24 date.
Sources and references
- BBC News: Israel's president to task Eisenkot with forming a government (2026-11-07)
- DW: Israeli president tasks Gadi Eisenkot with forming government (2026-11-07)
- France 24: Israeli president picks Netanyahu's rival Eisenkot to try to form government (2026-11-07)
Each link goes to the specific article or document we used. Two articles carrying the same wire report count as one source.
Spotted a mistake? See our corrections process.