Israeli President to Meet Netanyahu and Eisenkot as Coalition Talks Reach a Critical Juncture
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President Isaac Herzog is due to consult with Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot before choosing who should try to build a government after an election that produced no clear majority. The result has left the ruling right-wing camp short of a decisive mandate, while Arab-Israeli parties again hold enough seats to shape the outcome.
President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday, with less than a week remaining before he selects a candidate to try to assemble a government. The recent election left Netanyahu’s Likud bloc with 53 seats and Eisenkot’s Change bloc with 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while Arab-Israeli parties hold a combined 19 seats, making them potential kingmakers.
In Israel’s system, the largely ceremonial president determines which candidate has the best chance of building a stable coalition. Turnout among Arab Israelis rose to about 80%, reshaping the parliamentary balance and underscoring the political weight of communities long marginalized by the mainstream establishment.
Yousef Jabareen, leader of the main Palestinian coalition, said Arab voters “are not choosing between good and better but between what we see as bad and even worse.” He added that voters’ primary demand was the removal of the current government and its most extreme ministers, reflecting widespread frustration with a cabinet many critics see as increasingly hard-line and exclusionary.
Eisenkot has indicated that any coalition with Arab parties would require recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, acceptance of compulsory national service, and a denunciation of Hamas. The Joint List has suggested supporting an opposition from outside the government, while Ra’am expressed willingness to join an Eisenkot-led cabinet, highlighting the difficult and sometimes contradictory bargaining that follows Israel’s fragmented elections.
Herzog, after meeting delegations from smaller parties, urged all factions to help avoid another election. “Any reasonable person need only look at the security and diplomatic challenges before us… to understand that an immense responsibility rests upon us,” he said.
Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until a coalition is formed or a new election is called. He has questioned the vote’s integrity, alleging irregularities involving Arab-Israeli parties, claims that the Central Election Committee and its head, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, have rejected, emphasizing the importance of a peaceful transfer of power.