The round of consultations with all Knesset factions at the President’s Residence has concluded.
**President Herzog: “I intend to assign the mandate to form a government this coming Sunday.”**
He added: “The current situation is as follows: Representatives of factions comprising 67 Knesset members recommended Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! party, while representatives of factions comprising 46 Knesset members recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud party.”
Following the conclusion of consultations with all factions elected to the 26th Knesset, President Isaac Herzog delivered a statement to the media this evening, Thursday, 25 Cheshvan, November 5.
**President Isaac Herzog:**
“I would like to update the Israeli public following the conclusion of the consultation process. I met with representatives of all the factions. The discussions were open, candid, and at times pointed. I asked difficult questions in an effort to encourage both the political parties and the public to break free from entrenched ways of thinking and open their minds to other possibilities.
The current situation is as follows: Representatives of factions comprising 67 Knesset members recommended Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! party, while representatives of factions comprising 46 Knesset members recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud party.
The results of these consultations appear, at first glance, to be clear. However, the authority vested in me by law requires me to determine who has the ability to form a government. That ability remains somewhat unclear, given the mutual refusals to cooperate between the political blocs, as well as divisions within the blocs themselves.
I intend to clarify this matter directly and swiftly through personal discussions with some of the party leaders.
I intend to assign the mandate to form a government this coming Sunday.
In these discussions, I intend to leave no stone unturned in an effort to encourage cooperation and the extension of a hand toward building a stable and effective government for the people of Israel.”