Following the October 27 election, neither prime ministerial contender captured an outright parliamentary majority, prompting consultations by President Isaac Herzog. While Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats compared to Gadi Eisenkot's 48 seats, shifts among non-aligned factions have reshuffled the race for formal recommendations. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party refused to endorse Netanyahu over disputed military draft exemptions, while Arab lawmaker Mansour Abbas backed Eisenkot. Once chosen, the designated lawmaker will have 28 days, plus a potential 14-day extension, to negotiate a governing coalition.
Key points
Benjamin Netanyahu's political bloc controls 53 parliamentary seats while Gadi Eisenkot's…: Benjamin Netanyahu's political bloc controls 53 parliamentary seats while Gadi Eisenkot's rival bloc holds 48 seats.
Disagreements regarding military service exemptions for religious students prompted Unite…: Disagreements regarding military service exemptions for religious students prompted United Torah Judaism to withhold its endorsement from Netanyahu.
Partnering with Arab political factions poses significant coalition risks for Eisenkot du…: Partnering with Arab political factions poses significant coalition risks for Eisenkot due to potential backlash from hawkish lawmakers.
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Gadi Eisenkot emerged on Thursday as the favourite to be tasked with trying to form an Israeli government as a religious party long aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to recommend him.
President Isaac Herzog was holding a second day of consultations with political parties after the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu - a polarising right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war - nor Eisenkot - a former military chief promising to restore national unity - secured enough votes for a majority.
Herzog will choose by himself whom to ask to form a new government but traditionally the mandate is given to the person recommended by more parties, which would be Eisenkot.
The opposition leader also received a recommendation from a key lawmaker from the Israeli-Arab minority, whose seats in parliament soared due to outrage over Netanyahu's policies, even as Eisenkot has remained unclear on whether he would accept Arab support to form a government.
United Torah Judaism, which backed Netanyahu after the previous five elections, in its meeting with Herzog declined to recommend…
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