Joint List and Ra'am Back Eisenkot as Herzog's Consultations Point to a 67-Seat Mandate

The Joint List said its decision was not easy. In its statement the alliance said the camp led by Eisenkot had not yet shown the willingness to confront Netanyahu's path or to fight incitement against Arab citizens, but that it was responding to public demand to keep Netanyahu and his government from returning to power. Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman have all said Arab parties cannot be coalition partners; the Democrats' Yair Golan has argued for bringing them in.

Why did United Torah Judaism refuse to recommend anyone?

Because the legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service never passed. Yitzhak Goldknopf and Yitzhak Pindrus told Herzog that Torah learners were being persecuted and treated as criminals, and that the party's support for any government depends on securing those exemptions, according to JNS. Otzma Yehudit recommended Netanyahu, with Yitzhak Wasserlauf telling the president that many voters did not trust the result. Religious Zionism, Shas and Zehut had backed Netanyahu on Wednesday; Yisrael Beytenu, the Democrats and Bennett's B'Yachad are with Eisenkot.

Netanyahu's own response, in a video posted on Wednesday night, was to call for a broad national government led by Likud under his leadership and to warn against any coalition that depends on what he called Islamist parties. He has also demanded an investigation into suspected foreign interference; the Central Elections Committee certified the result on Wednesday and found no evidence of irregularities affecting it.

What happens next in forming Israel's government?

Yashar and Likud were the last factions on Thursday's schedule, at 7.15pm and 8.30pm. Herzog must assign the mandate by 11 November, the day after the new Knesset is sworn in, though he may act earlier. The chosen candidate gets 28 days, extendable by 14, to build a coalition. If that fails, Herzog can turn to another member, who gets 28 days without extension, or hand the question to the Knesset, where 61 signatures can nominate a candidate within 21 days. A further failure dissolves the house and sends Israel to another election early next year.

Recommendations are not a coalition. Eisenkot's 67 includes 19 Arab-party seats he has promised not to govern with, which means the arithmetic that wins him the mandate is not yet the arithmetic that keeps him in office.