President Isaac Herzog began consultations with political parties Wednesday to determine who should be tasked with forming the next government, launching a crucial stage in the coalition-building process after an election that left neither of the leading candidates with a clear parliamentary majority.
Herzog will meet representatives of all parties elected to the 120-seat Knesset through Thursday evening before deciding which candidate has the best chance of assembling a governing coalition.
Under Israel's parliamentary system, the president consults party leaders following an election and assigns the task of forming a government to the lawmaker considered most likely to secure the support of a parliamentary majority. The mandate does not automatically go to the leader of the largest party or the candidate receiving the most recommendations.
Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar! party, is currently expected to receive recommendations from 48 lawmakers representing Yashar!, Beyachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud party, is projected to receive 46 recommendations from Likud, the far-right Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist parties and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.
The Joint List, the Islamist Ra'am party and the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party have yet to announce whom they will recommend.
The outstanding recommendations could prove decisive in determining which candidate receives the
mandate. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu currently has the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary
majority, raising the prospect of difficult coalition negotiations.
In a departure from previous consultation rounds, Herzog began Wednesday's meetings with smaller
parliamentary factions and will conclude Thursday evening with the largest parties.
The talks began against the backdrop of an increasingly contentious investigation into suspected foreign
interference in the election, including allegations involving the Palestinian Authority and senior Arab
Religious Zionist Party representatives confirmed at the start of their meeting that they would
recommend Netanyahu for prime minister.
Orit Strock, a senior figure in the party, expressed concern over allegations being investigated by the
Shin Bet domestic security agency and police, calling for a thorough investigation without restrictions.
"We are concerned about the suspicions being investigated by the Shin Bet and the police, and we call
for the investigation to be fully pursued without obstacles," Strock said.
She also argued that Arab nationalist parties should not be considered legitimate partners in forming a government or removing the Knesset speaker.
Strock insisted her objection was not based on the parties' Arab identity but on what she described as their nationalist ideology and attitudes toward Israel's establishment.
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