Israel ex-army chief Ashkenazi to serve as foreign minister

Former Israeli army chief Gabi Ashkenazi, who spent nearly four decades in the military, will be nominated as Israel's next foreign minister, his Blue and White political alliance said Wednesday.

Ashkenazi held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem "ahead of (his) appointment as minister of foreign affairs this coming Thursday," said Blue and White, the alliance led by the incoming alternate prime minister, Benny Gantz.

A unity government agreed between Gantz and veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to be sworn in on Thursday evening, ending more than a year of political deadlock.