Herzog Resumes Consultations to Select Israel's Next Prime Minister
The second round of consultations is taking place at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, following meetings with several smaller factions on Wednesday evening.
Herzog is asking each party to nominate its preferred candidate for prime minister before deciding who should receive the first opportunity to build a governing coalition.
Likud, led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Otzma Yehudit have endorsed Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Yashar, the Democrats, B’Yachad and Ra’am have expressed support for Eisenkot.
United Torah Judaism has opted not to recommend either Netanyahu or Eisenkot.
The Arab-led Joint List has also yet to announce its preferred candidate, with its position expected to become clearer after its consultation with Herzog.
Netanyahu's political bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, including the seven seats held by United Torah Judaism. Opposition factions supporting Eisenkot control 48 seats, while the Joint List and Ra’am hold a combined 19 seats. A majority in parliament requires at least 61 seats.
If the Joint List and Ra’am join the opposition factions in backing Eisenkot, the coalition of parties supporting him would represent 67 lawmakers, giving him sufficient parliamentary support to receive the mandate.
The consultations are taking place amid growing criticism from opposition politicians of Netanyahu's continued leadership. Some political figures have called for a change in government following Democratic gains in the recent US midterm elections.
Under Israeli law, Herzog must assign the task of forming a government to the lawmaker he considers most likely to secure the support needed to establish a coalition.
The selected candidate will have 28 days to put together a government, with the possibility of receiving an additional 14 days if an extension is granted.
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