BICOM

With all the votes counted, the next phase of the process of forming a new Israeli government is the separate meetings between the President of the State of Israel and each party that will be represented in the new Knesset.

Israel media outlets Israel Hayom, Ynet and the Jerusalem Post are all reporting today on these meetings taking place, yesterday and today, at the home of President Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin. He is meeing each party, in order of the number of Knesset seats won, with election winners Likud being the first to meet with him yesterday. Each party is invited to recommend a candidate for prime minister and, after the conclusion of these meetings, the President will ask the most likely candidate for prime minister to form a new coalition government within 28 days.

In this case, the Likud’s victory was so decisive that only incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can realistically be given that task. He is expected to form a government with other right-wing parties, the ultra-orthodox parties and Kulanu, the new centrist party of former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon.

President Rivlin has made no secret of his preference for a national unity government, with Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union brought in to the coalition, but that looks highly unlikely at this point, with Herzog himself ruling out the possibility. Rivlin has also strongly hinted his disapproval at the controversial comments made by Netanyahu on election day, warning his voters that Israeli Arabs were being bussed to the polls “in droves”. According to a report in Ynet, Likud MK Gilad Erdan reassured the President that “Israel is a democracy, we are proud of that and will work to protect minorities’ rights.”