Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday night he would give opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form a government after the Oct. 27 election.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, led the main bloc challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Now is the time to form a national emergency government," he wrote on X.

Coalition Math Is Unsettled

Neither side won a clear majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Eisenkot's four-party bloc won 48 seats, Netanyahu's bloc won 53, and Arab-majority parties won a record 19.

Arab-led parties emerged as potential kingmakers, but their support presents a political dilemma for Eisenkot, whose allies remain divided over whether to cooperate with them. Most Jewish-led opposition parties had vowed not to rely on them.

Netanyahu Remains Caretaker, Election Fraud Claims Rejected

Netanyahu, endorsed by President Donald Trump, stays on as caretaker prime minister until a government is formed. If talks fail, Israel would hold another election.

Netanyahu alleged, without evidence, that Arab countries interfered in the vote. Din Livne, acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee, wrote Thursday that "there is no basis" for claims of systematic compromise of election integrity.