TEL AVIV, Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on power in Israel will be tested Wednesday as President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with leaders of all parties elected to the 26th Knesset before deciding which lawmaker to task with forming the next government. The final vote count, published last Friday by Israel's Central Elections Committee, gave Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 48 for the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot — 61 seats are needed to form a government. On Monday, Netanyahu posted to X that "the public in Israel does not want a government that depends on Ra'am and the Joint List—parties that support terrorism and reject the existence of the Jewish state." NETANYAHU DEFIES EXIT POLLS AS VOTE SHIFTS IN HIS FAVOR, BUT MAJORITY REMAINS ELUSIVE "A clear majority in the Jewish public chose the Likud as the largest party and me, as prime minister, to lead the next government.
We aspire to form a broad government with our partners and with any party that wishes to do so and does not support terrorism. I am open to holding discussions on the matter," he added. The two predominantly Arab parties he pointed his criticism at are the Joint List and Ra'am who secured a historic combined total of 19 seats, potentially positioning them as kingmakers in the government formation process.
A Joint List source told Fox News Digital that the alliance is likely to endorse Eisenkot to be the first lawmaker tasked with forming a government. If both predominantly Arab parties were to back him, he would receive recommendations from parties representing more than the 61 seats needed. The lawmaker tasked with forming a government will have 28 days to do so, with the president authorized to grant an extension of up to 14 additional days.
Consultations will be held in ascending order of seat count, beginning with Religious Zionism-Zehut and Shas, which each won six seats, followed by Yisrael Beiteinu, which secured seven. On Thursday, Herzog will meet with the leaders of United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit, which each won seven seats, followed by The Democrats and Ra'am, which each won eight, the Joint List (11), BeYachad (12), Yashar (21) and Likud (27). Defense and government affairs commentator Amir Oren told Fox News Digital that while Herzog is formally free to choose whom to task with forming a government, he would be inclined to select the candidate whose nomination is backed by parties representing a majority of Knesset seats.
FORMER ISRAELI PM EMERGES AS WILD CARD IN HIGH-STAKES ELECTION WITH MIDDLE EAST'S FUTURE AT STAKE "He must then task Eisenkot with forming the next government. That does not mean Eisenkot will succeed. If he fails, he will have to return the mandate to the president," Oren said.
Eisenkot may, in fact, struggle to assemble a 61-seat governing coalition, given competing interests within the opposition bloc. BeYachad leader Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beiteinu chief Avigdor Liberman are unlikely to agree to serve in a government reliant on the Joint List, given the latter’s pro-Palestinian positions and opposition to Zionism. It is theoretically possible, however, that the opposition bloc could agree to form a minority government with the Arab parties providing support from outside the coalition.
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