Israel's president begins deliberations on Wednesday on whom to task to form a government, with neither veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor rival Gadi Eisenkot holding enough seats after a divisive election.
President Isaac Herzog holds a largely ceremonial role, but carries the decisive vote on who will have the first chance to try to be prime minister -- a process that could last weeks or even months and may end in failure and new elections.
Herzog's statements have raised speculation that he could sound out leaders on joining a unity government, hoping to bring stability in a country sharply polarized after three years of war and Netanyahu's hard-right politics.
After officially receiving the results of the October 27 election, Herzog begins two days of consultations with parties at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT), starting with the ultranationalist Religious Zionism.
Herzog's office said he was deliberately starting with the smaller parties, hoping to hear all views, and would wait until late Thursday to meet the two biggest, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Yashar, a broad center to center-right opposition party launched by Eisenkot, a former military chief.
Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot holds the 61 seats needed to secure a majority in the 120-member parliament.
Netanyahu's bloc has an edge, with 53 seats as opposed to Eisenkot's 48.
Eisenkot could reach the threshold if he allies with parties from the Arab minority, whose seat count surged to 19 on outrage against Netanyahu's hard-right government.
But some in the opposition have baulked at relying on non-Jewish lawmakers' votes.
Netanyahu has called for a broad coalition government without Arab lists, after accusing Arab groupings of having "stolen" the vote.
Israel's attorney general called Tuesday on intelligence agency Shin Bet to share the progress of its investigation into claims of electoral fraud by Arab Israeli parties, stating that no evidence had yet been submitted.
Arab-Israeli leaders have strongly rejected the claims, while Eisenkot accused Netanyahu and his Likud party on Tuesday of trying to stage a "pogrom against democracy".
- 'Fresh thinking' -
Herzog, a mild-mannered lawyer whose political career was in the defunct left-wing Labor Party but is now officially nonpartisan, has said he wants to encourage "fresh thinking" and avoid a new election.
"It is important to exhaust every option, broaden the dialogue and explore every path that may advance the process," his office said in a statement, adding that he could hold additional rounds of consultations before his decision.
Once Herzog tasks someone, they will have 28 days to form a government, with a potential 14-day extension.
If no one succeeds, Herzog will give the mandate to someone else. If that too fails, a majority of lawmakers could come together to nominate someone within 21 days -- or else Israel heads to new elections.
It took Netanyahu, who at the time had a better showing by Likud, 58 days to form a government after the last election in November 2022.
Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 after deadlocks.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has been in power on and off for nearly two decades, enjoys a fervent supporter base but is despised by many other Israelis, including for his attempts to overhaul the judiciary.
Netanyahu faces corruption charges and the risk of jail if he loses power and, with it, immunity.
In the final days of the campaign, he repeatedly warned he would order a resumption of full-scale war on Iran alongside US President Donald Trump.
Eisenkot on election night warned the military not to take orders to suit Netanyahu's "political needs", saying he has no mandate -- even if he remains prime minister in a caretaker role.
- No unity -
Netanyahu has called for a "broad national government" -- with himself at top.
Opposition leaders have insisted that is not on the cards, pointing to Netanyahu's character and his failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest day in Israel's history.
In a strategy meeting Tuesday, Eisenkot and the other opposition leaders vowed to move quickly to form a government and oust Netanyahu -- but gave no indication how they would do so.
Yousef Jabareen, the head of the largest Arab-majority party in the next parliament, told AFP this week that the opposition needed to accept "political reality" and team up to remove Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has persistently warned Jewish Israelis that the opposition will work with Arab parties, which he accuses of backing Hamas.
Leaders of Arab-Israeli parties have unanimously condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas without describing the Palestinian movement as a terror group.
