1 hour ago
Israel could be headed for a coalition government as the post-election deadlock continues, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival Gadi Eisenkot having a clear path to securing a parliamentary majority.
President Isaac Herzog is set to nominate a candidate to form the next government on Sunday, but has said that competing political vetoes make the choice far from straightforward.
According to Reuters, Eisenkot received the backing of 67 lawmakers in consultations held by Herzog on Wednesday and Thursday, compared with 46 who endorsed Netanyahu.
However, the numbers have not resolved the political impasse, with divisions within both camps complicating the possibility of forming a coalition.
In televised remarks after the consultations, Herzog said that although the recommendations might appear to point clearly in one direction, "mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves" made it difficult to determine who had the best chance of forming a government.
The President said he would announce his choice on Sunday after holding further discussions with some party leaders over the weekend.
The October 27 election produced no outright winner, leaving the country facing a difficult coalition-building exercise.
Netanyahu's Likud emerged as the largest single party with 27 seats in the 120-member Knesset, but his broader religious-nationalist bloc secured only 53 seats.
Eisenkot's anti-Netanyahu grouping, comprising four Jewish-led parties ranging from the centre-left to the right, won 48 seats.
Meanwhile, two parties representing Israel's Arab minority secured a combined 19 seats, an unprecedented tally.
Although Eisenkot and Netanyahu have both ruled out forming a government with the two Arab-led parties, both factions endorsed Eisenkot during Herzog's consultations, contributing to his higher tally of recommendations.
A further setback for Netanyahu came when United Torah Judaism, one of the two major ultra-Orthodox parties and a longstanding ally of his coalition, declined to recommend either candidate to Herzog.
The presidential nomination will set the next stage of government formation. The candidate chosen by Herzog will have 28 days to put together a coalition, with the possibility of a 14-day extension.
Netanyahu will continue as caretaker Prime Minister until a new government takes office or another election is held if the attempts to form a coalition fail.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu, at risk of losing power, has seized on an investigation by election officials into possible vote tampering to cast doubt on the results, accusing Arab-led parties of stealing the vote.
Critics have accused Netanyahu and his partners of trying to undermine the results, which he denies.
Israel's Central Election Committee said on Wednesday that the election's integrity had not been compromised.
The head of the committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, has called on Israel's elected officials to protect public trust, rather than shake it.
- Ends
