Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot has received the support of 67 members of parliament to form the government. Making a statement following consultations with all political groups in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Herzog stated that political groups representing a total of 67 members of the 120-seat parliament recommended that the task of forming the government be given to Eisenkot, while groups representing 46 members supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog stated, "The results of the consultations seem clear. However, the authority granted to me by law is to determine the person who has the capacity to form a government. Given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves, this situation has not yet fully clarified."
Noting that he would try to clarify the current situation by speaking directly and quickly with party leaders, Herzog said he plans to assign the task of forming the government on Sunday. Herzog said, "In these meetings, I will spare no effort to encourage the parties to communicate with each other and to form a stable and good government for the people of Israel."
Israeli groups had announced they would not cooperate with Arab parties
In the elections held on October 27, the bloc led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won only 53 of the 120 seats in the Knesset and failed to reach the majority of 61 seats. Parties aligned with Netanyahu's rival, Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats. Thus, neither leader had a clear option to reach the majority required to form a government.
Parties representing Arabs in Israel had nearly doubled their number of seats in parliament to reach 19, becoming a decisive factor in the balance of power. However, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot had announced before the election that they would not cooperate with these parties.
The Joint List alliance, consisting of Arab parties, had announced that they decided to support Eisenkot for the task of forming the government. It was noted that the decision was taken "due to public demand to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government from returning to power."
News Source: İHA
