President Isaac Herzog is set to task a candidate with trying to form a government, following two days of talks with party leaders and officials after an inconclusive election.
Votes are still being counted, but it appears that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition nor the opposition alliance headed by Gadi Eisenkot will have a majority.
A bloc of opposition parties held a lead over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, according to exit polls. But it could take weeks or even months to form a new government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich lead ultranationalist parties that previously joined forces, in deals brokered by Benjamin Netanyahu. They are not on the same slate this time.
A banner for the Likud party and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, with the slogan, “The Right or Palestine.” Other candidates in the elections are to the left of it.