Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured the backing of 67 lawmakers on Thursday in his bid to form Israel’s next government, but President Isaac Herzog said it remained unclear who could break the political deadlock.
Herzog said he would nominate a candidate on Sunday following consultations with elected political factions.
Israel’s Oct 27 general election ended without a clear winner, with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot securing an obvious path to a parliamentary majority.
During two days of talks, 67 of the 120 elected lawmakers endorsed Eisenkot, while 46 backed Netanyahu.
However, Herzog said the results did not necessarily indicate who had the best chance of forming a government because of ‘mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves’.
He said he would hold further discussions with some party leaders over the weekend before making his decision.
Coalition deadlock complicates government formation
Under Israeli law, the candidate nominated by Herzog will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
Netanyahu will remain prime minister in a caretaker capacity until a new coalition is formed. If no candidate succeeds, another election must be held.
Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats, securing 27 in the 120-member Knesset. However, his broader religious-nationalist coalition obtained only 53 seats.
Eisenkot’s anti-Netanyahu bloc, comprising four Jewish-led parties ranging from the centre-left to the right, secured 48 seats, despite pre-election polls suggesting a close contest.
Meanwhile, two parties representing Israel’s Arab minority won a combined 19 seats, an unprecedented result.
In a setback for Netanyahu, United Torah Judaism, one of the two main parties representing ultra-Orthodox Jewish voters and a longstanding coalition ally, declined to recommend any candidate during its talks with Herzog on Thursday.
Although Eisenkot has also ruled out forming a government with the two Arab-led parties, both factions endorsed him, bringing his parliamentary backing to 67 lawmakers.
Election integrity becomes political flashpoint
Netanyahu has sought to cast doubt on the election results by highlighting an investigation into possible vote tampering, accusing Arab-led parties of stealing the vote.
Critics have accused Netanyahu and his allies of attempting to undermine the election outcome, an allegation he denies.
However, Israel’s Central Election Committee said on Wednesday that the integrity of the election had not been compromised.
Committee head and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg urged elected officials to protect public confidence in the democratic process.
‘One of the foundations of democracy is the peaceful transfer of power,’ Sohlberg told Herzog on Wednesday, describing the high voter turnout, including among Arab voters, as a blessing.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for the immediate arrest and questioning of Arab party leaders.
