Israeli President Herzog gave the task of forming a government to Netanyahu's rival Eisenkot

Israeli President Isaac Herzog completed his meetings with political party representatives regarding the government formation process on November 5. Making a statement after the meetings, Herzog announced that 67 MPs supported Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, and 46 MPs supported the appointment of current Prime Minister and Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form the government.

Herzog stated that although the picture regarding the support of MPs seems clear, it is not yet clear who can form the government due to mutual vetoes between political blocs. Herzog announced that he will hold individual meetings with party leaders before the final decision and plans to make the appointment on Sunday.

61 VOTES ARE REQUIRED TO FORM A GOVERNMENT

In the early general elections held on October 27, no political bloc could reach the 61 seats required to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset.

According to the election results, Netanyahu's bloc consisting of right-wing and religious parties won 53 seats, while the total number of seats of the four Jewish parties supporting Eisenkot remained at 48. Arab parties won a total of 19 seats.

The reason why Eisenkot received the support of 67 MPs was that the Arab parties also took a stance in favor of assigning him to form the government. However, Eisenkot is not keen on accepting Arab parties as part of the government.

THE SUPPORT OF ARAB PARTIES WAS DETERMINANT

In order for the anti-Netanyahu bloc to form a government, it must receive the support of different political parties. One of Eisenkot's options is to reach an agreement with the ultra-Orthodox parties. However, these parties' demands regarding military service make coalition talks difficult.

While the United Torah Judaism Party, a long-time ally of Netanyahu, refrained from supporting Netanyahu, the Shas Party announced that it supported Netanyahu.

On the other hand, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman stated that he was open to an agreement with ultra-Orthodox parties on some concessions in order to form a government without Netanyahu. Eisenkot, on the other hand, puts forward the obligation of military, national or civil service to all Israelis as one of the basic conditions for the government to be established.

IF A GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE FORMED, NEW ELECTIONS ARE ON THE AGENDA

The politician who will be assigned to form the government in Israel is given 28 days to form a coalition. This period can be extended for another 14 days by the decision of the President.

If the first person appointed cannot form the government, another member of parliament can be assigned the task. In this process, if a government cannot be formed, dissolving the Knesset and holding new elections within 90 days may be on the agenda.

Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as interim prime minister until the government formation process is completed.