Israel's president on Wednesday opened talks on forming a new government with a call for compromise, saying neither side had won divisive elections, as he also condemned "racist" rhetoric against Arab parties that made sharp gains.
More than a week after Israel's first election since the trauma of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, President Isaac Herzog began meeting party leaders to decide whether to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his rival Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government in the deeply polarized country.
With neither bloc holding a majority in the 120-seat parliament after the October 27 vote, Herzog said both sides needed to accept that "not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled" and to avoid new elections.
"In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the elections, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner," Herzog said.
The election saw soaring support for lists from the Arab minority, descendants of Palestinians who stayed in Israel after its 1948 creation and who have often been outraged by the harsh rhetoric and actions of Netanyahu's hard-right government.
Netanyahu has gone on the offensive against Arab-majority lists, who have the power to put Eisenkot in power if they team up.
Netanyahu has pointed to the arrests of several people with envelopes of cash on election day in what authorities called localized incidents.
Without naming any leader, Herzog, whose role is usually ceremonial, said he had "great respect" for the Arab minority, which makes up around 20 percent of Israel's population.
"I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently. There is no place for them (to be made) toward any community in Israel," Herzog said.
- No evidence found -
The Central Elections Committee said it had conducted an audit of 9,069 polling stations following complaints and found no evidence that would question the results' integrity.
The committee, which reflects the makeup of the outgoing parliament, approved the results with 15 members in favor and two against but 14 others abstaining.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist national security minister known for his provocative calls for Palestinian suffering, said his party did not accept the results and he urged the arrest of Arab-Israeli party leaders.
Several Israeli media outlets said authorities were investigating Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh for allegedly taking foreign money. He is part of the largest Arab group, the Joint List, which in a statement denounced "political persecution".
Eisenkot, a former military chief who has vowed to turn the page on Netanyahu's long, divisive reign, accused the prime minister of trying to "undermine Israeli democracy" and inflame sentiment against elected officials.
"We will not allow the State of Israel to be dragged into a dark abyss, far beyond the bounds of democratic conduct," Eisenkot said, as he marked the 1995 assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
- Buoyed by US elections -
Eisenkot has warned Netanyahu against launching a new war with his ally US President Donald Trump against Iran, which could help the Israeli prime minister push for a unity government or to run out the clock until new elections.
Opposition lawmakers said Tuesday's midterm elections in the United States, in which Democrats trounced Trump's Republicans, reinforced the need to remove Netanyahu.
Democrats have vowed a tougher line on Israel amid outrage over the devastation wrought by the war in Gaza. Trump said as voting was underway that he had agreed with Netanyahu to end nearly $4 billion in annual US military aid to Israel by the end of the year.
"The continued tenure of Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir could lead Israel down a path of international sanctions, international isolation and a clash with the US, our friend and most important ally," said Yair Golan, who heads the most left-wing party within the opposition bloc.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has been in power on and off for nearly two decades, has called for a "broad national government" -- with himself at the top. He faces corruption charges that could land him in jail if he leaves office.
Herzog's statements have raised speculation that he could sound out leaders on a possible unity government, but Eisenkot and his allies have ruled that out.
Herzog will hold an initial two days of consultations and then give a contender 28 days to form a government, with a potential 14-day extension.
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 repeated deadlocks.
