Israel’s President Herzog to name candidate to form government on Sunday

President Isaac Herzog says he will name a candidate to form Israel’s next government on Sunday, after most lawmakers recommended opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. The choice matters because the election produced no clear parliamentary majority, and rival blocs face internal and mutual vetoes.

Some 67 of the Knesset’s 120 lawmakers backed Eisenkot, compared with 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; two Arab-led parties supported Eisenkot, though he has ruled out governing with them. Netanyahu’s Likud won 27 seats, while his coalition secured 53; Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48, and two parties representing Israel’s Palestinian minority won 19. Herzog will hold further talks before deciding; his nominee gets 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a government.