A majority of Israeli lawmakers have backed former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to be given the first chance to form the country's next government, as consultations with President Isaac Herzog continued on Thursday.
Israeli media reported that a total of 67 out of 120 Knesset members supported centrist party leader Yashar to begin coalition talks, after the Arab-dominated Joint List also gave its support.
However, this does not guarantee that Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest challenger, will succeed in forming a government.
He will likely need the support of both the Joint List and the separate Ra'am party, which together won 19 seats in last month's elections, nearly doubling their previous representation and giving them considerable influence in forming the next government.
Finding an agreement to achieve a majority could be a challenge, as two of Eisenkot's allies have previously ruled out cooperation with Arab parties.
Israel's political future remains uncertain after the October 27 parliamentary elections that did not give a majority to either of the main blocs - Netanyahu's right-wing camp and Eisenkot's centrist alliance.
Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats in the 120-member Knesset, securing 27, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21.
President Herzog has been holding talks with party representatives since Wednesday evening, where each party has been given the opportunity to recommend a candidate who will be tasked with forming a government.
He is scheduled to meet with representatives from Likud and Yashar on Thursday evening, after which the president will determine the candidate he believes has the best chance of securing a parliamentary majority.
The person does not need to be the leader of the largest party, as Eisenkot is expected to have the first opportunity after the strong support he received.
The Joint List said supporting Eisenkot had been a difficult decision, in a statement quoted by Israeli media.
"Although we are determined to topple Netanyahu, the opposition camp led by Eisenkot has so far failed to show the necessary willingness to engage with Netanyahu's policies and combat incitement against Arab citizens," the alliance was quoted as saying by our news site.
