Netanyahu rival Eisenkot tapped to form Israeli government

Driving the news: Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats in the Oct. 27 election, but his coalition lost its majority, winning just 53 of the 120 seats in parliament.

• Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats, but the two Arab parties, which won 19 seats, backed his bid to form a government.
• During consultations held earlier this week, 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot to form the new government, while only 46 recommended Netanyahu.
• United Torah Judaism, an ultra-Orthodox ally of Netanyahu, declined to endorse him and signaled it could join an Eisenkot-led coalition.

The other side: On Saturday, Netanyahu called for a unity government headed by him.

• Netanyahu attacked the Arab parties and falsely claimed they want to destroy Israel. He proposed Eisenkot and other Jewish parties in the opposition join his far-right bloc.
• Eisenkot rejected Netanyahu's appeal as political spin.

What to watch: Eisenkot said he intends to form an "national emergency government" built around the 48 members of his bloc.

• But he would need support from lawmakers outside his bloc to win a vote of confidence in parliament.
• Eisenkot will have to chose whether he wants this support to come from the ultra-Orthodox parties or the Arab parties, but either path risks alienating members of his bloc.
• Both options could also force Eisenkot and his allies to break campaign promises.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates