President Herzog faces key choice as Israel struggles to form government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog must choose who receives the first attempt to form a government after inconclusive elections left both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, short of a parliamentary majority.

During consultations that ended on Thursday, 67 of 120 Knesset members endorsed Eisenkot, while only 46 backed Netanyahu. No bloc has secured the 61 seats needed for a majority government. Netanyahu's right-wing and religious alliance holds 53 seats, four Jewish-led parties backing Eisenkot hold 48, and Arab-led parties hold 19.

Eisenkot has ruled out bringing Arab-led parties into government, which would give him a 67-seat bloc. Winning over two ultra-Orthodox parties — United Torah Judaism and Shas — would give him exactly 61 seats. United Torah Judaism has signalled its support was available, but Shas endorsed Netanyahu on Wednesday.

Netanyahu would need to lure an opposition party to his side. A unity government rotating between the two men, excluding Arab-led parties, is another option, but many Netanyahu rivals have ruled out serving under him.

The Arab-led parties — the Joint List and Ra'am — hold 11 and eight seats respectively. Ra'am says it is willing to join an Eisenkot-led government, while the Joint List has ruled out joining but offered to help put him in office from the outside. Both endorsed Eisenkot during consultations, but Herzog has refused to bring either into government unless they meet conditions, including recognising Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas has expressed support for disarming Hamas but declined to label it as terror. Israeli law allows Eisenkot to become prime minister with fewer than 61 seats if his proposed government wins a confidence vote. He could form a minority government and later secure a majority by making concessions on conscription.

Analyst Nehru Jamhour told Al Jazeera the drawn-out impasse is the likeliest outcome, with Netanyahu hoping a repeat election would weaken rivals and depress turnout among Palestinian citizens.