Israeli President Isaac Herzog is expected to announce on Sunday who will receive the first mandate to form a government following parliamentary elections with no clear winner. Former Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot received the support of 67 of the 120 lawmakers, compared with 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but neither man has a guaranteed path to a majority.
“The results of the consultations may appear clear,” Herzog said, but warned that “the mutual vetoes between and within the blocs themselves” make it difficult to determine which candidate has a better chance of building a coalition. The president has not publicly committed to either Eisenkot or Netanyahu.
No bloc has 61 seats
The October 27 election left Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc with 53 seats. The four Jewish parties supporting Eisenkot have 48 lawmakers, while the parties representing Israel’s Palestinian citizens won a record 19 seats.
Eisenkot is ruling out the Arab parties joining his government, despite the fact that together they would give him the support of 67 lawmakers. He could reach the required 61 seats if he attracts the two ultra-Orthodox parties—United Torah Judaism and Shas. The former has signaled that its support could be negotiated, but Shas has already sided with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu also does not have a ready majority. His bloc lost the support of United Torah Judaism over the dispute about whether ultra-Orthodox Jews should be exempt from military service. To form a government, the prime minister will have to attract at least one opposition party. The possibility of a national unity government has also been discussed, under which Netanyahu and Eisenkot would rotate as prime minister, but a number of Netanyahu’s opponents refuse to serve under his leadership.
Arab parties support Eisenkot from outside
Ra’am, which has eight seats, has said it is willing to join a government led by Eisenkot. The “Joint List,” made up of three parties and holding 11 seats, does not want to participate in the coalition, but is ready to help elect Eisenkot and support the cabinet from parliament.
The Arab parties are setting conditions for their support—an end to house demolitions and incitement against Palestinian citizens, measures to combat crime and a political horizon for the Palestinians. Eisenkot, however, has set his own conditions, including recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas supports disarming the group, but refuses to define it as terrorist.
Under Israeli law, Eisenkot could become prime minister without having 61 seats secured in advance if the government he proposes wins a vote of confidence in the Knesset. He could thus begin with a minority government and later attract the ultra-Orthodox parties through concessions on the issue of military service.
The procedure could lead to new elections
The candidate designated by Herzog will have 28 days to form a coalition. The deadline may be extended by another 14 days. If the mandate fails, the president will designate another candidate, who will have a new 28 days.
After a second failure, a majority in the Knesset may support a third candidate, who will have a final 14 days to form a government. If this attempt also fails, parliament will be dissolved and new elections will be scheduled within 90 days. Until a new cabinet is formed, Netanyahu will remain acting prime minister.
Sources: aljazeera.com, apnews.com