President Herzog Concludes Round of Consultations With Knesset Factions at the President’s Residence

President Herzog: “I intend to task a member of Knesset with forming the government this coming Sunday.”

On November 5, 2026, at the conclusion of the round of consultations with all factions elected to the 26th Knesset, President Isaac Herzog delivered a statement to the media.

President Isaac Herzog:

“I would like to update the public following the conclusion of the round of consultations with the Knesset factions. I met with the representatives of all the factions. The discussions were open, candid, and also probing. I asked difficult questions in an effort to help the parties and the public to break free from set ways of thinking and open their minds to other paths.

“The picture is as follows: the representatives of factions totaling 67 members of Knesset recommended the Leader of the Yashar! party, Gadi Eisenkot, to form a government, while the representatives of factions totaling 46 members of Knesset recommended the Prime Minister and Leader of the Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, to form a government.

“The results of the consultations may appear clear, but the authority vested in me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear, given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves. I will try to determine this directly and quickly, in personal talks with some of the party leaders.

“I intend to task a member of Knesset with forming the government this coming Sunday. In these talks, I intend to leave no stone unturned in an effort to reach out and build a stable and good government for the people of Israel.”