Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has assured the people of country that he would nominate a candidate on Sunday who would be tasked to forming a new government in a bid to end the deadlock following the election results that gave a hung verdict.
In a video statement following the second round of consultation with Knesset factions at his residence on Thursday (local time), Herzog said emphasized he would leave no stone unturned to “build a stable and good government” for Israel.
He described the consultation as “open, candid, and also probing”, underling he asked “difficult questions” to the Knesset factions only to help the parties and the public.
Herzog highlighted former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) chief Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, has received recommendations from 67 members of the Knesset to form the government. On the contrary, Benjamin Netanyahu — the incumbent Prime Minister and Likud party chief — has received support from 48 members.
“The results of the consultations may appear clear,” the Israeli president said, “but the authority vested in me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear, given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves. I will try to determine this directly and quickly, in personal talks with some of the party leaders.”
The hung verdict and the setback for Netanyahu
The October 27 elections in Israel did not give a clear verdict, with the Netanyahu-led coalition receiving only 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while Eisenkot’s centrist-leftist alliance securing 48 seats. The Arab parties, representing Israel’s Muslim and Arab populations, received 19 seats, emerging as the kingmaker.ย
The Arab parties had earlier indicated they might back Eisenkot in a bid to remove Netanyahu’s administration, which they described as a “criminal government”.
With Eisenkot now receiving support of 67 Knesset members, he is most likely to form the next government in Israel.ย
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister, has criticized the Eisenkot’s bloc for forming the government with help of Arab parties. He has alleged that foreign powers had financed Eisenkot’s election campaign, but have not provided any evidence against it yet.
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