Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot is expected to receive the mandate to form a government from President Isaac Herzog on Thursday, after receiving 67 recommendations from consultations Herzog held throughout the week with all the parties that will serve in the incoming Knesset.
Eisenkot had secured the support of Yisrael Beytenu, the Democrats, Ra'am, the Joint List, and B'Yachad. Conversely, Netanyahu had received backing from Religious Zionist Party-Zehut, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit.
United Torah Judaism declined to recommend a candidate.
Representatives of Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party backed Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, as Bennett and opposition leaders Yair Golan (Democrats) and Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) confirmed earlier this week.
When asked about the possibility of forming a unity government, MK Meirav Cohen said: "You don't do business with scorpions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I served in a unity government, and instead of doing good for my country, I ended up harming it."
"No unity with people who hold fascist worldviews," MK Ram Ben-Barak added.
Later, Yashar's delegation called on the president to award Herzog the mandate, citing the public's lack of trust in the current administration.
"We need a government that has public trust... which we saw, on election day, the public told the October 7 government that it does not have its trust," incoming Yashar MK Shaul Meridor told the president.
Meridor touched on the country's need to address the financial strain the war has caused, saying their government would "get the country back on track."
When questioned about the possibility of forming a unity government, the Yashar delegations insisted they would first work to form an "emergency national government" to address the "damage" that had been done by Netanyahu's administration.
"We all want unity in Israel," MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen said, but maintained that unity should be more than "just a slogan."
"We need to address the truth: This prime minister brought us to division like no one else," she said.
The president continued to press the Yashar members, asking about a plan to build a stable majority, to which Meridor insisted that Eisenkot would form a government "not just for tomorrow, but looking forward to the future."
Herzog's final meeting was with the Likud delegation, where Transportation Minister Miri Regev argued that the mandate should go to Netanyahu as the leader of the largest party.
The delegation further insisted that it would be "dangerous" for a coalition to rely on support from the Joint List, which they claimed supported terrorists.
"The change bloc wants change in support of terror," Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz said.
"Eisenkot laid out four points during his campaign, but one hour ago, Yoram Cohen changed the points to no longer include recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization, and I don't think that's a coincidence."
Incoming MK Talik Gvili, mother of slain hostage Ran Gvili, said she felt hurt that opposition parties would be more willing to sit with "people who support those who killed our children" than with Likud.
"I feel like I'm in miluim, I'm here to finish the work Ran began; here to end our enemies," she said.
What happens next?
The consultations are part of the process through which Herzog will determine which Knesset member has the best chance of assembling a governing coalition and securing the support of at least 61 lawmakers.
Under Basic Law: The Government, the candidate selected by Herzog will have 28 days to form a government, and the president may grant an extension of up to 14 additional days if necessary.
If the candidate fails to form a government within the allotted time, informs Herzog that the effort has failed, or presents a government that fails to win a confidence vote, the president must decide within three days whether to assign the task to another MK or inform the Knesset speaker that he sees no possibility of forming a government.
A second candidate would then have 28 days to establish a coalition, without the possibility of an extension.
If the second attempt also fails, or Herzog decides not to appoint another candidate, a 21-day period begins during which at least 61 MKs can jointly request that the president assign the task to a particular lawmaker. That candidate would have 14 days to form a government.
Should all attempts fail, the Knesset would be dissolved, and another election would be held. Until a new government wins the Knesset's confidence and takes office, the outgoing government remains in place in a caretaker capacity.