Israeli president to decide who first tries to form next government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday, ahead of a decision on which of the two should first try to form a government. The Guardian reported that less than a week remains before that decision.

Neither man has a clear path to power after the election held last month. Netanyahu's coalition fell from 68 seats to 53 in the 120-seat Knesset, the national parliament, although his Likud party won the most seats. He remains prime minister in a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed.

Eisenkot, a former military general and chief of staff, leads the Change bloc of Zionist parties, which holds 48 seats. He chairs the Yashar party. Yashar rejected a unity government with Netanyahu and urged Herzog to give Eisenkot the premiership, according to Yashar's statement reported by the Times of Israel.

In Israel's system, the president decides which candidate has the best initial chance of building a stable coalition, meaning a majority that can govern. Herzog has accepted the certified election results and begun consultations with party representatives, the Associated Press reported. A majority of lawmakers have backed Eisenkot for the first chance to form a government.

The Arab parties' position is central to the arithmetic. Parties representing Israeli Palestinians hold a record 19 seats: the Joint List has 11 and Ra'am has eight. Arab Israelis, who are Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and make up 20% of the population, saw turnout more than double to about 80%. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza had no vote.

Ra'am has said it would join a new government led by Eisenkot. The Joint List told Herzog it recommends Eisenkot to form a government and that it seeks to support a government from outside, without toppling it even during war. Eisenkot has conditioned any coalition with Arab parties on their recognising Israel as a Jewish state, accepting compulsory national service, and denouncing Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

A Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, faction told Herzog it would not recommend Netanyahu as prime minister, the Times of Israel reported on November 4.

The new Knesset is set to convene on November 10, after Herzog assigns the mandate to form a government.