An alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel has said it would back Gadi Eisenkot in the effort to form a new government, 东方财富 reported on Thursday. The announcement came as Israeli President Isaac Herzog began consultations with party representatives over who should assemble the next coalition, according to 央视网.
The talks follow the formal certification of the parliamentary election results. Israel's Central Election Commission confirmed the outcome and said it found no evidence of fraud, 观察者网 reported.
Seat totals published after the vote showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc with 53 seats and the opposition with 48, 凤凰网 reported, leaving the path to a governing majority unclear. The backing of the Arab party alliance for Eisenkot adds a new element to a formation process that had already been difficult to predict.
Under Israeli procedure, the president receives the certified results and then meets each faction before deciding whom to task with building a coalition. That decision now hinges on whether a candidate can assemble 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset from a fragmented field.
What to watch next: Herzog's choice of mandate holder, and whether the declared support for Eisenkot translates into a workable majority.