In short:
Israel's President Isaac Herzog is poised to give Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to lead coalition talks.
asserted
Herzog → poise → talks
Neither Mr Netanyahu's Likud-led bloc nor the opposition secured enough seats for a parliamentary majority in last week's election.
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bloc → lead → election
Mr Eisenkot faces an uphill struggle amid a divided political landscape, and Israel could be facing weeks of delays.
uncertain
Israel → face → delays
Israel's President Isaac Herzog looks set to tap Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival to begin the process of forming a new coalition government, despite ongoing accusations from the prime minister and other right-wing politicians the election was "stolen".
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election → tap → minister
Last week's ballot delivered an unsurprisingly inconclusive result, with neither Mr Netanyahu and his ruling right-wing coalition or the band of challengers led by former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot receiving enough support to govern in majority.
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Netanyahu → deliver → majority
Coalition governments are the norm in Israel, and after being presented with the official results of the election the president has had the task of meeting representatives from each party to seek advice on who they believe is best placed to begin negotiations.
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they → present → negotiations
While the meetings were underway on Thursday night, two competing groups of protesters gathered outside the president's residence in central Jerusalem — one group calling for a "unity government" comprising Mr Netanyahu and Mr Eisenkot's parties, and a larger group demanding a Jewish-Arab coalition to stabilise the country.
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groups → compete → country
Mr Eisenkot's own Yashar party, along with fellow "change" camp parties Together, Yisrael Beiteinu and the Democrats all recommended the former general be given the first shot at forming government.
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general → recommend → government
Mr Netanyahu’s Likud, the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties led by internationally sanctioned ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and the ultra-Orthodox Shas all backed the incumbent to begin the negotiations.
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Likud → lead → negotiations
The other ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism, did not recommend either leader.
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party → recommend → leader
It defended the approach by arguing there had been "wild incitement and fierce persecution" of their community during the debate over whether Haredi men should be forced to complete compulsory military service.
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men → defend → service
The two Arab-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli parties, the Joint List and the United Arab List, also recommended Mr Eisenkot.
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parties → recommend → Eisenkot
"We believe that it is possible to establish a new government that will serve all the citizens of the State of Israel, and it will certainly be infinitely better than the current government, which is defined as the government of failures," leader of the United Arab List Mansour Abbas told President Herzog during a meeting on Thursday.
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Abbas → believe → Thursday
Surge in Arab-Israeli becomes flashpoint
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Surge → become → Israeli
The Arab-Israeli parties have record representation in the next Knesset, with 19 seats between them.
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parties → have → them
But that surge in support is fuelling ongoing allegations of the election being stolen.
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surge → fuel → election
David Zini, the head of Israel's intelligence agency the Shin Bet, has claimed 100 million shekels, $45.1 million AUD, was poured into Arab-majority communities in a foreign interference operation aimed at encouraging voter turnout.
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shekels → claim → turnout
Israeli media has reported Mr Zini, who was handpicked by Mr Netanyahu, sought to question three senior Arab-Israeli politicians.
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who → report → politicians
The move was blocked by Israel's attorney-general, who said there was insufficient evidence.
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who → block → general
"This is an earthquake, an unprecedented event that undermines the very foundations of the democratic regime in Israel," Otzma Yehudit member Yitzhak Wasserlauf told President Herzog.
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Wasserlauf → undermine → Herzog
"We want an in-depth investigation so that they don't play with our Israeli democracy, so they won't play with this important country that we have prayed for over two thousand years, not to let terrorist elements to take over our system."
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elements → want → system
Likud member, and Netanyahu government transport minister, Miri Regev told President Herzog there should be no government relying on the support of the Arab-Israeli parties, labelling them as "terror supports" who were a "danger to the State of Israel".
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who → tell → Israel
The anti-Netanyahu parties have accused the prime minister of weaponising the nation’s security agencies to undermine the democratic process.
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parties → accuse → process
Israel’s elections committee, chaired by a Supreme Court justice, ratified the results of the election on Wednesday despite the ongoing allegations.
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committee → chair → allegations
That triggered President Herzog to begin consultations, which wrapped up Thursday night local time.
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which → trigger → consultations
Eisenkot faces uphill battle
The recommendations from political parties to begin negotiations do not guarantee a government can be formed, but kickstart a 28-day window for wrangling to occur.
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wrangling → face → window
Within the anti-Netanyahu camp, Yisrael Beiteinu’s leader Avigdor Liberman has insisted he will not work with the Arab-Israeli parties in any coalition or partnership.
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he → insist → coalition
If Mr Eisenkot was to try to form a coalition with the so-far unaligned United Torah Judaism, it may mean walking back from his commitment to force most Haredi men to complete compulsory military service.
uncertain
it → try → service
If a government cannot be formed within the initial 28 days, the president can extend the negotiating period for another 14 days.
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president → form → days
After that is over, another politician can be given a shot.
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politician → give → shot
If a deadlock remains after all of that, fresh elections can be ordered.
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elections → remain → that
Even without a government being formed, power plays in the Knesset will begin as early as next week when members are sworn in.
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members → form → week
There is enough support for the anti-Netanyahu camp to start making changes, with the support of the Arab-Israeli parties, including installing a new speaker.
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camp → be → speaker
That is widely tipped to be former prime minister Yair Lapid, who ran on the Together joint ticket with fellow former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
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who → tip → Bennett
While Likud is going to be the largest party in the Knesset, with 27 seats compared to Yashar's 21, the "change" camp parties, along with the Arab-Israeli lists, make up a combined 67 seats in the 120-vote parliament.
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parties → go → parliament
The Aporia
