Eisenkot wins 67 recommendations as Herzog sets Sunday mandate decision

President Isaac Herzog finished his round of consultations with the parties elected to Israel's 26th Knesset on Thursday, 5 November, and said he intends to assign the mandate to form a government this coming Sunday. By the end of the talks, factions representing 67 members of the Knesset (MKs) had recommended Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! party, while factions representing 46 MKs had recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the president's own statement as reported by Amit Segal.

Likud, the last faction to arrive at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, recommended Netanyahu. N12 reported that representatives of United Torah Judaism did not recommend any candidate. Ynet noted that the tally left Eisenkot 21 recommendations ahead of Netanyahu, and quoted Herzog pledging to "turn every stone" to get leaders to reach out to one another and form a stable government.

What the president's consultations are

After a Knesset election, Israel's president meets representatives of every faction that won seats. Each delegation tells the president which MK it wants to lead the next government. These endorsements are known in Israeli political language as recommendations. The president then entrusts one lawmaker with the task of assembling a coalition, a step commonly called handing over the mandate. Herzog said on Thursday that he would make that announcement on Sunday.

The Knesset, Israel's parliament, has 120 seats. Haaretz reported that the 67 endorsements give Eisenkot a majority of recommendations in parliament and strengthen his chances of being chosen. Earlier on Thursday, The Jerusalem Post described him as expected to receive the presidential mandate.

Who Gadi Eisenkot is

Eisenkot is a former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the country's military, and heads Yashar!, whose name is usually written with an exclamation mark. His own party recommended him on Thursday. Israel Hayom reported that the consultations ran over two days: on the opening day, three parties endorsed Netanyahu and two backed Eisenkot, before the second day pushed Eisenkot's total past Netanyahu's.

Yashar! representatives told reporters after meeting the president that they would form a national emergency government, Ynet reported. Asked about unity, they said Netanyahu had brought division and incitement.

Herzog's exchange with Likud's Regev

The Likud delegation's meeting included a sharp back and forth between Herzog and Minister Regev, a Likud representative. According to Ynet, Regev said Likud does not boycott anyone, but that it is impossible to sit with supporters of terror, and she referred to the opposing camp as a "disaster bloc" rather than the "change bloc". Herzog answered by asking how she could claim to be reaching out while calling them a disaster bloc, and reminded her that her side had negotiated with Abbas, Ynet reported.

Amit Segal reported a further remark by Herzog to Regev: that one cannot frame the choice as Eisenkot or the right, or Palestine, and in the same breath say one wants a unity government. He added a call for "a little proportion".

What comes next

Herzog said in his statement that he would update the public on the steps ahead before assigning the mandate, and that his intention is to do so on Sunday. The reports do not indicate that the president has signalled whom he will choose, although the recommendation figures he cited himself put Eisenkot ahead.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports lists which factions make up Eisenkot's 67 recommendations or Netanyahu's 46, or how many seats each holds.
• United Torah Judaism's reasons for declining to recommend a candidate have not been reported.
• No response from Netanyahu himself to the final tally appears in the material.
• Herzog's formal decision is still to come on Sunday.