Israel's president accepts election results, begins coalition talks

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 11:05 · Archive

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has formally accepted the results of last week's parliamentary election and begun consultations with party leaders on forming a government. Election officials certified the results after a vote on Wednesday that was widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership, particularly his handling of the October 7 attacks in 2023.

In the October 27 vote, neither Netanyahu's coalition nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc secured the 61 seats required to govern in the 120-member parliament. Netanyahu's coalition won 53 seats while Eisenkot's secured 48. Arab-led parties made historic gains, winning a record 19 seats total, opening the possibility of various coalition combinations to form a majority government.

Herzog urged compromise and warned that the factions would not be able to deliver on every campaign promise. "The one test I ask the factions and their representatives to keep in front of them is this: what is truly best for the country," he said. He called for the various blocs to demonstrate "originality, creativity, courage and goodwill" to avoid new elections.

Three factions aligned with Netanyahu's religious-nationalist base recommended him to form a coalition during Wednesday night's consultations, while a fourth, led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival, backed Eisenkot. Eight more parties, including the two Arab-led factions, were scheduled to meet with the president on Thursday.

According to the Israeli news site Ynet, Ra'am, a major Arab-led party, said it would recommend Eisenkot, bringing his expected support to 56 lawmakers—still short of a majority. Al Jazeera reported that the other Arab-led party, the Joint List, had not announced its position, though Israel's Channel 12 reported it was expected to coordinate with Eisenkot, either endorsing him or abstaining.

How it is being reported

• Israel president urges compromise after divisive electionIsraeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday accepted the certified results of last week’s parliamentary elections as legally binding and began consultations with party representatives on forming a new government. Herzog began consultations with party leaders on Wednesday night to determine whom to designate to form a government — a process that could bring Netanyahu’s opponents to power.France 24 · 5 Nov, 10:30
• Israel’s Herzog accepts vote results, opens talks on forming a governmentMove deals blow to Netanyahu's efforts to discredit the elections, in which he and his allies lost their majority.Al Jazeera · 5 Nov, 01:53
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally adopts election resultsIsrael's president launched a consultation with political parties with the largest vote shares from a hung election in an effort to form a government.UPI · 4 Nov, 13:47

In this story: Isaac Herzog · Benjamin Netanyahu · Gadi Eisenkot · Israel · Knesset · Ra'am · Joint List

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log