Israel’s president to hold coalition talks after election deadlock

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to consult parties on forming a government after the official election results confirmed that neither of the two main political blocs has a parliamentary majority.

The first meetings were scheduled for Wednesday evening, after Herzog received the results in Jerusalem from election committee chair Noam Sohlberg. The president will then choose a member of parliament to try to form a government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the 27 October election, while the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot secured 48. A majority requires 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

Two Arab-led lists, the Joint List and the United Arab List, won 19 seats between them. Their support could be important in resolving the deadlock, although most Jewish parties pledged before the election not to work with them to form a government.

Herzog urged parties to show creativity and goodwill, saying they could not fulfil every promise if they wanted to avoid another election. The politician he selects will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.

The certification followed Likud’s allegation that Arab-led parties had stolen the election. The election committee said its review of complaints found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the vote or affected the result.

The Shin Bet security service is investigating allegations of foreign interference. Sohlberg said that even if the suspicions were substantiated, their potential effect on the result would be limited.