Herzog urges factions to seek solutions to avert another election

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday urged Knesset factions to approach upcoming consultations with “an open heart” and seek ways to prevent another election.

Speaking at the state memorial ceremony for Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, at Weizmann House in Rehovot, Herzog said he would receive the official election results on Wednesday from Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, deputy president of the Supreme Court. He said he would then begin consultations at the President’s Residence.

“I have already said that I hope the representatives will come with an open mind, and today I add: with an open heart,” Herzog said. “Come to listen and to be heard, to share ideas, and to find creative solutions to prevent another round of elections.”

Herzog urged political leaders to move beyond their campaign positions and face the post-election reality.

“The elections are over. The election results are a fact. They are a reality,” he said.

“This week at the President’s Residence, we will try to put up ladders so that our leaders can come down and face this reality in a measured and careful way.”

The election tally gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. The opposition bloc secured 48 seats and the Arab parties won 19. Likud remained the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Yashar with 21.

The official results are scheduled for publication on Wednesday, which would give Herzog until Nov. 11 to task a lawmaker with forming a government. That need not be the leader of the largest party, meaning Netanyahu is not guaranteed the opportunity.

Netanyahu on Saturday warned against cooperation with Arab lawmakers Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi, as Yashar Party chairman Gadi Eisenkot outlined terms for forming the next government.

“Cooperation with Mansour Abbas and Tibi is a disaster for Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on X on Saturday evening.

Eisenkot said in a written statement on Saturday that any lawmaker accepting his four core principles could be a potential partner in forming Israel’s next government.

Eisenkot’s conditions include recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic, liberal and egalitarian state; commitment to the values of the Declaration of Independence; mandatory military, national or civilian service for all Israeli citizens; and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and the obligation to destroy its military and governing power in the Gaza Strip.

“Any member of Knesset willing to sign on to these principles is a possible partner on the path to establishing a new and better government for Israel,” Eisenkot wrote on X.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that his B’Yachad (“Together”) faction will recommend Eisenkot to Herzog to form the next government.

“Throughout the entire election campaign, I promised to respect the decision of the voter, and that is what I am doing now,” Bennett wrote on X. “I have therefore decided that the B’Yachad faction will recommend to the president that Gadi Eisenkot be entrusted with forming the government. Good luck, Gadi!”

The government-formation process follows a timetable defined by law. The first candidate Herzog designates receives 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a coalition. If he or she is unsuccessful, the president can assign another candidate 28 days. If that attempt also fails—or the president determines there is no possibility of forming a government—at least 61 MKs have 21 days to request that the president designate an alternative candidate. That candidate then has 14 days to form a government.

Failure to establish a government would trigger another election held in approximately 90 days. Herzog has pledged to try to avoid that outcome, declaring: “I really, truly will do all I can so there won’t be repeat elections.”