Eisenkot says Israel chose change and he will seek to form a government

ISRAEL — Opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot said early on Wednesday that Israel had chosen change after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said he would seek to form a new government, according to Middle East Eye.

Eisenkot spoke to supporters as early results from the Israeli election came in. The sources do not give seat counts or vote shares, and they do not say whether any official tally has been published.

What Eisenkot said

Eisenkot warned Netanyahu against using national security for political purposes. "Don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," he said, according to Middle East Eye. The outlet described the remark as a likely reference to Netanyahu's threats of new strikes on Iran. Eisenkot did not name Iran in the words quoted.

He also said he did not want a second election. "In these elections, where there was a high percentage of Voters, it will be a mistake to rerun elections," he said. "It is my duty and the duties of everyone to be able to make the will of the people, a reality."

Telegram post

Al Jazeera Arabic published a separate item on its Telegram channel. The post carried a "breaking" label and said Eisenkot had described Netanyahu as a prime minister without legitimacy and said there was no trust in him. The post is unverified social media content. The wording was not confirmed by a second source in the material available, and it does not appear in the Middle East Eye account of his remarks.

What is not confirmed

The sources do not include official results from Israel's Central Elections Committee. They do not say which parties won the most seats or whether Eisenkot's bloc has enough support to form a coalition. They also do not report a response from Netanyahu or his Likud party.

Eisenkot's statement is a declaration of intent. In Israel, the head of state assigns the task of forming a government. The sources do not say whether that step has begun.

Background

Eisenkot is presented in the source reports as an opposition candidate challenging Netanyahu. Middle East Eye reported that he linked his call for a stable outcome to the high turnout. He argued that holding another vote would go against the voters' decision.

The reports give no further detail on the campaign, the party lists or the policy platforms. Further information is expected once final results are published and party leaders begin coalition talks.