Israeli President Herzog starts consultations on forming a government

Crucial consultations on the formation of a new government begin today in Israel. After the parliamentary elections, the country is in a deadlock. President Herzog calls for historic events

Formation of a government in Israel Who will President Herzog give the mandate to? As of: November 4, 2026 • 10:43 a.m

Crucial consultations on the formation of a new government begin today in Israel. After the parliamentary elections, the country is in a deadlock. President Herzog calls for historic compromises.

These are fateful days for Israeli democracy. The official consultations on forming a government begin today in the presidential palace in Jerusalem. President Izchak Herzog receives the leaders of all factions elected to the Knesset one after the other.

The consultations are scheduled to last until Thursday evening. The talks are the start of a complicated and likely lengthy process that will culminate in the nomination of a candidate for prime minister. But rarely have the signs been as bad as they were after this election.

The country is deeply politically divided, and the election results have led to a mathematical and ideological stalemate: Neither the right-wing national and religious bloc of long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the broad opposition alliance around former military chief Gadi Eisenkot can boast a stable government majority of at least 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

The Arab lists in Israel achieved great success in the parliamentary elections. more

The big surprise of this election has shaken the traditional structure of Israeli politics: the Arab parties now hold the key to power. With a total of 19 mandates, they have tipped the scales. Throughout Israel's history, Arab factions have rarely been directly involved in governing alliances or included as active supporters.

Now both Netanyahu and Eisenkot are faced with the challenge of building bridges that were considered unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Whether and under what conditions Arab MPs are prepared to recommend one of the two candidates for the office of prime minister is the central question these days.

In Israel, hundreds have called for Arab parties to be involved in forming a government. more

In view of this difficult situation, President Herzog chose unusually emotional and state-supporting words even before the consultations began. He urged the party leaders of the various camps to "look for creative solutions with an open heart" and to listen to each other regardless of the deepest political differences. In this critical phase, Israel cannot allow itself to remain politically paralyzed or even to go to the polls again.

In order to strengthen the trust of the population, exhausted by crises and wars, in the political process, Herzog has made a far-reaching decision: the consultations in the presidential palace will be broadcast live in full length on television and via digital channels. In this way, the Israeli public can follow in real time which faction exchanges which arguments and which candidate they ultimately recommend for the office of prime minister. This radical transparency massively increases the pressure on MPs to reach agreement.

The Arab parties probably performed better than ever before in Israel's election. more

While tactics are taking place in Jerusalem, social pressure is growing outside the negotiating rooms - particularly on opposition leader Eisenkot. The head of the Yashar party is confronted with the existential demands of a deeply traumatized civil society. Relatives of victims and hostages of the October 7 terrorist attack presented Eisenkot with a deeply urgent appeal before the consultations began.

On behalf of more than 700 people directly affected - including freed hostages, survivors of the massacres and residents of the border towns with the Gaza Strip - Eisenkot was asked to use his electoral mandate exclusively for a "government of change".

The message from the signatories is unmistakable: Eisenkot should under no circumstances enter into lazy compromises or a coalition that legitimizes those forces that were responsible for the catastrophic state failure around October 7th.

For Eisenkot, who himself lost family members in the war, this appeal represents an enormous political and personal burden. Every decision he makes in Jerusalem in the coming days will be measured against this moral standard of the victims' associations.

The final result of the Israel election does not result in a majority capable of governing for either party bloc. more

The consultations in Jerusalem are initially scheduled to last two days. After the talks end, President Herzog will select the representative who he believes has the best chance of forging a viable coalition. This candidate then legally has 28 days to set up a government.

However, given the seemingly incompatible positions of the blocs and the completely new role of the Arab parties, observers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem expect weeks of tough negotiations.