Israeli opposition party heads gathered in Herzliya, a tech industry hub north of Tel Aviv, a week after an inconclusive election. Neither incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance nor Gadi Eisenkot's change bloc managed to win a majority in the Knesset, with Netanyahu's camp securing 53 seats—including 27 from his Likud party—and Eisenkot's bloc winning 48.
Party leaders will make competing cases to the Israeli president for either Benjamin Netanyahu or Gadi Eisenkot to receive the first chance to build a governing coalition. Because neither bloc is near a majority, Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties now hold the key to Israel's next government.
While the opposition promises to form a government quickly and all parties in Eisenkot's camp have endorsed him as the next prime minister, the group remains split. The primary point of contention is whether to unite with Arab-led parties that made surprise gains in the vote, leading to criticism of holdouts in the opposition camp who oppose such a coalition.