Netanyahu, rival Eisenkot both vow to form government after inconclusive Israeli election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot each vowed on Wednesday to form a government after both came up short in the first election since the events of October 7, 2023. Voters turned out Tuesday in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on the divisive rule of Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to the Hamas attack. Exit polls showed Eisenkot, a former military chief and political novice, and his opposition bloc neck and neck with Netanyahu’s hard-right camp and both well away from the threshold for a majority in parliament.

The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Netanyahu, who has relentlessly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction in which he has taken Israel. Netanyahu, greeting cheering supporters at a Jerusalem convention centre after 0100 GMT, called for a “strong government of the right” and said that the “Jewish and Zionist majority must unite”. The 77-year-old prime minister was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory. Instead, he listed leaders Israel has killed under his orders and again hinted that he was ready for a third bombing campaign against Iran alongside US President Donald Trump, his close ally. “Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran,” Netanyahu said. Eisenkot, speaking to his own supporters in Tel Aviv, issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu, who observers say could use a war to push for a unity government. “Netanyahu, don’t you dare use Israel’s security for your political needs,” Eisenkot said. Addressing Israel’s security…