Israel’s President Isaac Herzog began formal consultations with political party leaders on Wednesday to determine who will be tasked with forming the next government, following the certification of results from the October 27 parliamentary election. The move marks a definitive step away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to discredit the vote, which saw his coalition lose its majority in the 120-member Knesset.
Election Results and the Path to Coalition
Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious coalition dropped from 64 seats in the 2022 election to 53. Meanwhile, 67 seats were won by parties that ran against him, including the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and the Arab-led parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, which secured a record 19 seats.
President Herzog concluded the first day of consultations on Wednesday night and indicated that talks would continue on Thursday. During the initial round, three factions aligned with Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist base recommended that the prime minister be given a chance to form a coalition, while a fourth, led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival, backed Eisenkot. The ultra-Orthodox faction reportedly broke with Netanyahu due to his coalition’s failure to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service.
President Herzog is expected to choose a candidate he believes is best placed to assemble a government, almost certainly Netanyahu or Eisenkot. If the chosen candidate fails to assemble a coalition, the Knesset will be dissolved and Israeli voters will return to the polls for a new election.
Addressing Allegations of Election Irregularity
There are voices seeking to undermine the election results. This is a real danger,
Sohlberg said. It harms the ability to change governments peacefully. We must respect the rules of the democratic game, recognize the voters’ decision and act accordingly.
While the committee said claims about foreign actors seeking to influence the election are serious and remain under investigation, it does not believe any such interference affected the final results.
The Role of Arab-Led Parties
Yousef Jabareen, head of the Joint List, described the election as a “state of emergency” for the Arab public. The record turnout has placed the Joint List and Ra’am at the center of political maneuvering. Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Joint List, said his party was ready to support the anti-Netanyahu parties in establishing a government from the outside, though he stressed, I don’t want to be in the cabinet,
adding, But without the Arab parties there won’t be change.
The resistance to a Jewish-Arab government remains significant. Some of Eisenkot’s allies oppose partnering with Arab parties, citing past statements from Joint List leaders that they argue deny Israel’s legitimacy. Eisenkot has set conditions for potential partners, including the acceptance of compulsory national service—which could be civil or military. Some critics argue that the refusal to accept Arab parties as legitimate partners is rooted in prejudice, noting that Arab parties have only briefly joined Israeli governments twice, in the 1990s and in 2021.
I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently,
Herzog stated.
Earlier coverage: Israeli President Isaac Herzog Accepts Certified Election Results
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