Gadi Eisenkot reaches out to Netanyahu allies as he strives to form government

Former military chief says prime minister brought Israel to historic crisis and it is approaching point of no return'

Israel's former military chief Gadi Eisenkot started the tough task of forming a government on Sunday, reaching out to Benjamin Netanyahu's allies as he said the veteran prime minister had brought the country to a historic crisis.

Eisenkot, 66, the leader of the Yashar party, who has vowed to bridge Israel's deep polarisation under Netanyahu, formally received a mandate from the president, Isaac Herzog, who gave him 28 days to form a government despite his bloc lacking a clear majority.