Israel's president takes first steps on building new government after accepting election results

President Isaac Herzog formally accepted the certified results of Israel’s parliamentary election as legally binding. This mattered because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters had claimed, without evidence, that Arab-led parties had stolen the vote. Herzog’s decision moved the country from election dispute toward government formation.

Herzog began meeting political parties to hear whom they recommended to form a coalition. Three factions aligned with Netanyahu recommended him. A fourth faction, led by a former Netanyahu ally, recommended opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eight more parties, including two Arab-led factions, were scheduled to meet Herzog next.

After these consultations, Herzog will choose the candidate he believes has the best chance of building a coalition. The likely choices are Netanyahu or Eisenkot. The selected candidate will have weeks to negotiate with other parties. If both fail, Israel would hold another election early next year.

The Knesset is Israel’s parliament, the national body made up of elected lawmakers. Parties win seats there through parliamentary elections. A government needs majority support in the Knesset because governing requires cooperation from enough lawmakers to pass legislation and sustain political backing.

The election produced no clear governing bloc. Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the bloc supporting opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured the majority needed to form a government. That forced both sides to consider agreements with smaller parties. The article specifically mentions possible cooperation involving Arab-led parties.

This makes coalition-building central to Israel’s next political step. Herzog is consulting every faction before choosing a candidate. That candidate must then negotiate with other parties and combine enough seats behind one government. Without sufficient support, the proposed government cannot govern effectively and may fail, sending the country back toward another election.

Israel’s Knesset has 120 seats, so a majority requires at least 61 lawmakers. That threshold matters because a governing coalition must hold enough parliamentary support to control votes and sustain its government. A bloc with fewer than 61 seats must recruit partners.

The Oct. 27 election did not produce that result. The article says neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the bloc allied with opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured the parliamentary majority needed to form a government. Instead, the results created political gridlock and made smaller factions especially important.

The immediate consequence is a search for combinations that can cross the 61-seat line. Eisenkot could potentially work with some Arab-led parties, while the article also raises the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals. Herzog’s consultations will help identify which candidate has the strongest path to such a coalition. If neither succeeds, another election could follow early next year.

A coalition government is an agreement among multiple political parties to share governing power. It becomes necessary when no single party or bloc controls enough parliamentary seats to form a government alone. Coalition partners usually support a common government, even when they disagree on other issues.

The election left both major camps short of a majority. The article identifies two possible paths: an alliance between Netanyahu and Eisenkot, or an alliance between Eisenkot and some Arab-led parties. Three Netanyahu-aligned factions recommended him, while another faction recommended Eisenkot. More parties were due to meet Herzog.

The key mechanism is seat aggregation. Parties negotiate over whether to support one candidate and his proposed government. Herzog will select the person most likely to complete those negotiations. The candidate must then assemble enough backing in the Knesset. The result could bring Netanyahu’s opponents to power, create an unexpected partnership, or fail and lead to a new election.

If neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot can assemble a coalition, the election will not produce a functioning government. The country would remain without a candidate able to secure enough parliamentary support. The article says Israel would then hold a new election early next year.

Before reaching that point, Herzog must complete consultations and choose the candidate he believes is most likely to succeed. That candidate will receive time to negotiate with parties. Netanyahu and Eisenkot may seek support from smaller factions, including Arab-led parties, because neither major bloc won a majority.

A second election would reopen the same central question: which combination of parties can command the Knesset? It could change the balance, but the article does not predict the result. For now, the immediate path is consultation, designation, and coalition negotiations. Only if both candidates fail does the process move toward another national vote.

Israel’s president does not lead the government in the prime minister’s role. Instead, after an election, the president helps start the government-formation process. Herzog consults party representatives and then chooses the candidate he believes is most likely to assemble a parliamentary coalition.

The article describes Herzog’s consultations beginning after he accepted the certified results. Three factions recommended Netanyahu, while another recommended Eisenkot. Eight additional parties, including two Arab-led factions, were scheduled to meet him. Their recommendations help Herzog judge which candidate has the strongest path to a majority.

Herzog’s choice does not automatically make that person prime minister. It gives the selected candidate the opportunity to negotiate for support and form a government. Netanyahu or Eisenkot will have weeks for those talks. If the designated candidate cannot gather enough backing, the process may move to the other candidate. If neither succeeds, another election could occur early next year.

Unsupported fraud claims can damage democracy by weakening confidence in elections, even when the vote was conducted properly. Citizens may begin doubting official results, opposing parties, and the institutions responsible for counting and certifying votes. That makes peaceful transfers of power harder.

After investigating claims from all parties, Israel’s elections commission found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the election or changed its results. The committee’s head, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, called the results legally binding and warned that casting doubt on them was dangerous. He said public trust is easy to destroy and difficult to repair.

The Shin Bet investigation into possible foreign interference was still ongoing, but the agency provided no evidence for its assessment of foreign funding. Sohlberg said such suspicions had limited potential impact even if substantiated. The episode shows why allegations require evidence, especially before they are used to reject certified results.