Eisenkot has 67 endorsements in Israel to Netanyahu's 46
Herzog will name his pick on Sunday but says counting recommendations is not enough, given the vetoes running through both blocs.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrapped up his consultations with Knesset factions on Thursday and said he will task a lawmaker with forming a government on Sunday. Factions totaling 67 members recommended Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party. Factions totaling 46 recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The tally alone will not decide it. Herzog said the law lets him determine who is best placed to form a government, and that this is unclear because of vetoes running between the blocs and within each one.
The 67 depend on Arab parties. The Oct. 27 election left Netanyahu's bloc with 53 seats and Eisenkot's opposition with 48, short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The Joint List, with 11 seats, and Ra'am, with eight, recommended Eisenkot. Without those 19 votes he would not reach a majority.
Netanyahu's side came up one bloc short. United Torah Judaism, with seven seats, recommended no one. Its Degel HaTorah party broke with the prime minister because a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service did not pass.
Likud responded that cooperating with the Arab bloc would be "dangerous for Israel." Herzog asked both sides for "originality and creativity" after an election with no clear winner.
Whoever gets the mandate will have 28 days to assemble 61 seats, with a possible 14-day extension. If neither succeeds, Israel would hold another election in early 2027.
