Israel’s president says parties need to engage with ‘open heart’ to avoid fresh election

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has urged the country’s political parties to enter negotiations on forming a new government with an “open heart,” as he prepares to consult with factions on a path forward after an uncertain election result.

Last week’s elections saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc denied a majority, with the parties in his ruling coalition claiming 53 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset.

Parties in the bloc aligned with Netanyahu’s main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats, leaving neither man with an obvious path to forming a government.

The balance of power is held by parties representing Israel’s minority Arab community, which nearly doubled its representation in Israel’s parliament with 19 seats. But both Netanyahu and Eisenkot had ruled out working with them prior to the vote.

Netanyahu has since continued to attack the Arab parties, accusing them of holding stances on Gaza and the West Bank he considers unacceptable. Eisenkot, however, has indicated he is open to working with anyone who agrees to four conditions on Israeli sovereignty and opposition to Hamas, potentially opening a path to a deal that could propel him to power and avoid fresh elections.

While Netanyahu is the leader of the single largest party, it is up to Herzog — largely a ceremonial figure — to decide who has the first shot at forming a government. He will hold initial consultations with party officials on Wednesday, beginning a delicate process that could last weeks.

“I hope the representatives will come with an open mind, and today I add: with an open heart,” Herzog said in a statement Sunday. “Come to listen and to be heard, to share ideas, and to find creative solutions to prevent another round of elections.”

Netanyahu, who is set to remain in his post as a caretaker until a new government can be formed, has claimed Arab parties used foreign backing to “steal” the elections, without providing evidence. Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet has said it is investigating possible foreign interference in the election but that the probe was not intended to “cast aspersions” on any specific group.

Arab party leaders have strongly denied any wrongdoing, while Herzog pushed party leaders to accept the election result.

“During an election campaign, candidates naturally and predictably climb to lofty positions,” Herzog said in his statement. “But the elections are over. The election results are a fact. They are a reality. And now is the time to call on all our leaders to stop climbing and face this reality.”

The four conditions Eisenkot set out for prospective partners include recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, committing to the values of its independence, accepting mandatory military service for all Israeli citizens and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization.

“Every Knesset member who is willing to sign on to these principles is a potential partner on the path to establishing a new and better government for Israel,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “The door to the government we will form will be open to every public representative who accepts these principles and is ready to rise to the occasion.”

Netanyahu, meanwhile, said Sunday that it was “forbidden” to form a government with Mansour Abbas, head of Arab-led party Ra’am.

He said on X that Abbas wants to establish a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and evacuate Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, citing an old Ra’am policy platform.

During the campaign, Netanyahu’s Likud party repeatedly alleged that Eisenkot would usher the Arab parties into power.

In one of several AI-generated videos posted by Netanyahu, Eisenkot was portrayed astride a wooden Trojan horse, with Abbas and left-wing politician Yair Golan inside.

Abbas said Friday that he was coordinating with other Arab leaders on “the prospects for forming a government to replace the one led by Netanyahu.”

Eisenkot’s anti-Netanyahu bloc contains a broad array of ideologies and views on the issue, ranging from Golan, who has publicly advocated for a deal with the Arab parties, to Avigdor Lieberman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, who continues to oppose working with them.

With that much friction, a stalemate and more elections remain a real possibility.

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, told NBC News that Israel still appears stuck, adding that Eisenkot’s conditions for the Arab parties are effectively asking them to “forsake their identity.”

“I don’t think we will see the opposition led by Eisenkot forming a government in Israel,” he said. “So what we have now is a deadlock.”

For the major Israeli parties, it is a choice “between Israel as a democratic state or Israel as a Zionist exclusive society,” he said.

But Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at U.K. think tank Chatham House, sees flexibility that could yield a breakthrough.

Parties “make all these promises before the election, and it is obvious that you break at least some of them after the election,” he said.