Israel president Herzog to name candidate to form government on Sunday

Israel's President Isaac Herzog announced on Thursday that he will appoint a candidate to build the next government by Sunday, after a Knesset vote saw 67 members support opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot over incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Herzog made the statement after marathon consultations with parties elected to the 120‑seat parliament. The vote gave Eisenkot, a former military chief, 67 endorsements, while Netanyahu received 46. The October 27 election left neither side with a clear majority, forcing Herzog to choose in a deeply split nation.

In televised comments, Herzog noted that “results of the consultations may appear clear” but warned of “mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves”, making it hard to predict who can assemble a coalition. He added that he will hold “personal talks with some of the party leaders” over the Israeli weekend (Friday‑Saturday) before making his decision on Sunday.

Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats – 27 – but its broader religious‑nationalist bloc totals 53 seats. Eisenkot’s alliance of four Jewish‑led parties secured 48 seats, while two Arab‑representing parties together obtained a record 19 seats. Both Eisenkot and Netanyahu have ruled out partnering with the Arab parties, yet the latter still recommended Eisenkot, giving him a comfortable majority.

“We want to do things that we did not do in the past in order to remove this criminal government,” senior Joint List member Ahmad Tibi told the Associated Press. Eisenkot’s Yashar party said his 67 recommendations were the highest since 2015 and urged Herzog to grant him the mandate “as soon as possible” so he can establish a national emergency government.

United Torah Judaism, a longtime ultra‑Orthodox ally of Netanyahu, withdrew its recommendation on Thursday, breaking with the prime minister after his coalition failed to pass legislation exempting ultra‑Orthodox men from military service, according to reports.

Democrat party member Yariv Oppenheimer told Al Jazeera that he sees “no reason” Herzog would not select Eisenkot on Sunday and suggested United Torah Judaism’s support could be bought with a suitable offer, adding “It’s very clear that Netanyahu doesn’t have a chance to establish a government at all.”

Once appointed, the chosen candidate will have 28 days, with a possible 14‑day extension, to form a government. Netanyahu will remain caretaker prime minister until a new coalition is confirmed or a fresh election is called if the effort fails.

Netanyahu has questioned the election’s integrity, alleging vote tampering by Arab parties, while Israel’s Central Election Committee said on Wednesday that the vote was not compromised. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, head of the committee, told Herzog that “This is a real danger. One of the foundations of democracy is the peaceful transfer of power,” and praised the high voter turnout, including among the Arab minority. Far‑right allies of Netanyahu, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir, have called for the immediate arrest and questioning of Arab party leaders.