Isaac Herzog opens coalition talks in Israel amid parliamentary deadlock

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has launched formal talks with political factions to determine who should try to assemble a governing coalition, cautioning party leaders that compromise is necessary to avoid plunging the nation into another vote.

The consultations follow official certification of the October 27 parliamentary election results, which produced no clear parliamentary majority for either major camp. After receiving the certified counts from the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday, Herzog stated that factions must recognise that "not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled" under the current political reality if they hope to forge a stable administration.

Final figures show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and its allied religious and nationalist partners secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset. A rival bloc spearheaded by centrist Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot collected 48 seats. Two Arab-led slates, the Joint List and the United Arab List, captured a record 19 seats combined after high turnout among Arab citizens. Despite holding enough sway to serve as potential kingmakers, nearly all Jewish factions pledged ahead of the vote not to partner with them.

Under Israeli law, the presidency is predominantly ceremonial, yet the head of state holds significant discretion in selecting a lawmaker to try to form a government. The chosen candidate receives an initial 28 days to negotiate a coalition, with the possibility of a two-week extension. The president is not obliged to nominate the head of the largest single faction, but rather whoever appears best positioned to command a legislative majority.

The post-election atmosphere has been clouded by heated political disputes. Electoral officials dismissed claims from Netanyahu's allies that Arab parties had compromised the vote, noting there was no justification to delay certifying the outcome. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, warned that recent efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the results posed a genuine threat to democratic norms and the peaceful transfer of power.

Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, is probing allegations of foreign financial influence surrounding the election, including claims of external money flowing into campaigns. Sohlberg indicated that while authorities are investigating the scope of foreign funding, the findings would not alter the overall election outcome. Qatar has strongly rejected assertions in Israeli media that it funded turnout efforts in Arab areas.

Tensions escalated further after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged security forces to detain and question Arab party heads. Opposition figures, including Eisenkot, accused Netanyahu of undermining legal institutions, while Arab lawmakers described the accusations as an attempt to invalidate legitimate ballots.

Herzog condemned derogatory rhetoric aimed at Arab citizens, who account for roughly a fifth of Israel's population, stressing that public discourse must not descend into racist attacks against any community.