Israel: Netanyahu's opponent Eisencott invited to form government, Arab parties become 'kingmakers'

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said that he has decided to entrust the responsibility of forming a new coalition government to opposition leader Gadi Eisencott.

After last week's elections, neither the coalition led by Gadi Eiseenkot nor the coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party gained the necessary majority to form the government. After this the President was talking to many political parties.

Gadi Aizencott will now have 28 days to try to form a new government, including a possible extension of 14 days.

Eisencott wrote on Twitter, "Now is the time to form a national emergency government. I will do everything possible to ensure that we are able to do so."

Till date no political party in Israel has got absolute majority in the Parliament. This is the reason why all the governments there are formed on the basis of coalition.

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament, while Eysenkot's centrist Yashar party and the three other Jewish opposition parties in his coalition won 48 seats.

Following strong participation by Arab voters, two Arab-led coalitions, the United Arab List (Ra'am) and the Joint List, won 19 seats together. Due to this he emerged as a potential kingmaker.

However, all but one of the Jewish parties had pledged before the election not to cooperate with Arab parties to form a government.

A statement issued from President Herzog's office said that after discussions with all parties, it has been decided to give Eisencott the opportunity to form a government.

The statement said that he has informed both Eisencott and Netanyahu about this decision.

According to the statement, after talks with delegations of newly elected parliament members, Aizencott received 67 recommendations for the post of prime minister and Netanyahu 46.

The President of Israel has broad authority to decide which leader has the best chance of forming a coalition government.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the President to invite only the leader of the party winning the maximum number of seats to form the government.

The election results revealed three possible options for government formation: a national unity government including both Netanyahu and Eiseenkot, a right-wing coalition including Netanyahu and breakaway members from Eiseenkot's faction, or a government led by Eiseenkot supported by Arab parties.

Aizencott and all but one member of his coalition had previously refused to join a government with Arab parties, but there was speculation that a compromise could be reached.

He could also try to reach a compromise with ultra-conservative parties, but that too would be difficult.

There are precedents for a unity government. In 2020, after three consecutive elections failed to yield a clear majority, Binyamin Netanyahu and his centrist rival Benny Gantz agreed to a power-sharing deal, with both taking turns at the helm.

During discussions with political parties, Herzog said that if another election is to be avoided and a stable government is to be formed, he hopes that "the political parties and their representatives will understand that under the current circumstances it is not possible to fulfill every promise and every commitment."

The period between 2019 and 2022 is considered one of the most fragmented and unstable periods of Israeli politics.

General elections were held five times during this period, as Netanyahu and his political rivals repeatedly failed to garner the necessary cooperation and consensus to form a government.