Israeli president to announce choice to form government on Sunday

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he will announce Sunday his choice to form the next Israeli government, as a majority of parliament members are lining up behind Gadi Eisenkot, the chief opponent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Herzog held back from signaling favoritism toward either Eisenkot or Netanyahu, as the math to build a governing coalition remains fraught.

“The results of the consultations may appear clear, but the authority vested in me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear,” Herzog said in a statement Thursday following a marathon public meeting with elected Knesset members where they detailed where they were pledging support.

Herzog added that there are “mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves.”

He said he will hold personal talks with party leaders before making an announcement Sunday.

“In these talks, I intend to leave no stone unturned in an effort to reach out and build a stable and good government for the people of Israel.”

Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, received support from factions totaling 67 members elected to Israel’s Knesset, surpassing the 61 seats needed to hold a governing coalition in the 120-seat body.

Netanyahu, head of the Likud party and Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, received support from factions totaling 46 Knesset members.

Eisenkot, in a statement, called it “imperative” to receive a mandate to form a government as quickly as possible given the challenges facing the country.

“The people’s verdict and the clear parliamentary majority leave no room for doubt: Israel’s citizens have chosen change and expressed a complete lack of confidence in outgoing Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government,” the statement read.

More than a week after the elections, Eisenkot saw his backers grow from 48 to 67 with critical support pledged from both Arab parties — Ra’am and the Joint List — which together have 19 seats in the Knesset.

But support to form a government does not easily translate into a coalition. Eisenkot has said those joining his coalition must agree to four principles, including condemning Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Mansour Abbas, head of Ra’am, declined to label Hamas a terrorist organization when asked by Herzog on Thursday, citing concerns for his family’s safety, The Times of Israel reported .

And Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beiteinu, has endorsed Eisenkot for prime minister but said he and his party’s seven seats would not sit in a government with Arab parties.

Lieberman could reverse his position, as he did Thursday when he reversed his position that he would not sit with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties.

There are two ultra-Orthodox parties. United Torah Judaism, with seven seats, and Shas, with six seats. United Torah Judaism has not announced whether it prefers Eisenkot or Netanyahu, and a Shas member has urged a unity government between the two party heads.

An Eisenkot government with Lieberman and the two ultra-Orthodox parties would give Yashar 61 seats to govern.

Israel’s president could ask Eisenkot and Netanyahu to form a unity government, with Likud the biggest party in the Knesset with 27 seats.

Netanyahu did not immediately issue a statement following the public meeting with Herzog. But his campaign throughout the election and after the polls closed focused on warning his supporters about the threat from the rise of the Arab parties and allegations that there was election fraud.

Netanyahu, in a statement Wednesday, called for a “broad national government led by Likud” and invited Eisenkot and “all Zionist parties” to join.