Isaac Herzog begins consultations with Israeli parties to form a new government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will begin consultations with parliamentary parties on Wednesday to select the candidate who will attempt to form the new government, following legislative elections that ended without a clear majority. The talks will be broadcast live and will take place in Jerusalem.

The first round will begin on Wednesday afternoon with representatives of the Religious Zionist Party, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party. Consultations will continue on Thursday morning with representatives of the United Torah Judaism alliance, the Otzma Yehudit party, the Democrats party, the Arab parties Raam and the United List, as well as the center-right alliance led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, won 27 of the 120 seats, while Yashar, the party of opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot, won 21 seats. However, neither of the two blocs controls the 61 seats needed for a majority.

Netanyahu and Eisenkot will meet separately with Herzog on Thursday evening. The designated candidate will have 28 days to form a coalition, with the possibility of a 14-day extension. If no agreement is reached, other candidates may be designated, and new elections may ultimately be called. Herzog has urged political leaders to seek “creative solutions” to avoid this scenario.