Israel’s Religious Zionism and Shas parties recommended Wednesday that President Isaac Herzog task Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the next government, while Yisrael Beiteinu recommended opposition Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

Ra’am, also known as the United Arab List led by Mansour Abbas, decided to recommend Eisenkot ahead of its meeting with Herzog on Thursday, the daily reported.

The ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) United Torah Judaism alliance will refrain from recommending any candidate, said the newspaper.

Herzog opened consultations with parliamentary factions at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem after receiving the official results of the Oct. 27 parliamentary election.

A delegation from Religious Zionism, the party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was the first to meet Herzog. The delegation, led by lawmaker Orit Strock, recommended Netanyahu.

Representatives of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Shas party, led by Aryeh Deri, also backed Netanyahu. Shas lawmaker Yinon Azulay defended his party’s opposition to drafting students at Jewish religious seminaries during the meeting.

Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, recommended Eisenkot. Its lawmaker Oded Forer told Herzog that the party would oppose joining a government that depended on support from Arab parties.

“It is impossible to expect us to sit in a government that would be dependent on parties that are unwilling to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization,” said Forer, according to the newspaper.

Ofer Cassif, a lawmaker from the Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen, told Anadolu that the alliance would likely recommend Eisenkot when it meets Herzog on Thursday. He said the alliance was still discussing its position.

Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, including United Torah Judaism’s seven, while opposition parties aligned with Eisenkot won 48. The Arab Joint List secured 11 seats and Ra’am won eight. A parliamentary majority requires 61 seats.

If the Joint List and Ra’am join the 48-seat opposition bloc in recommending Eisenkot, factions holding 67 seats would back him for the mandate. Whether those factions would support an Eisenkot-led government would depend on subsequent negotiations.

Herzog will decide whom to task with forming a government after the consultations. The lawmaker he selects will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of up to 14 days. (AA)