Israel's president pledges to pick candidate on Sunday to form government

Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival secured nods on Thursday from a majority of lawmakers to try to form a government, but Israel's president said it was still unclear who could break the election deadlock as he pledged to nominate a candidate on Sunday.

Israel's October 27 national ballot ended with no clear winner. Neither Prime Minister Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, secured a clear path to a majority in parliament.

That has set up a tough task for President Isaac Herzog, whose mostly ceremonial role comes with the post-election responsibility of picking a candidate he believes has the best chance to form a coalition in a deeply divided country.

Herzog held marathon talks with elected factions ⁠on Wednesday and Thursday, during which 67 of parliament's 120 elected lawmakers endorsed Eisenkot, while 46 endorsed Netanyahu.

In televised remarks at the end of the talks, Herzog said that while the "results of the consultations may appear clear", there were "mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves" that make it difficult to say who has the best shot to form a government.

Herzog said he would make a pick on Sunday, and that he would hold "personal talks with some of the party leaders" over the Israeli weekend, which runs Friday-Saturday.



Reuters