Arab bloc in Israel endorses Benny Gantz for prime minister

The Arab bloc in Israel's parliament broke with tradition Sunday and endorsed Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz for prime minister, giving the former military chief an edge for the job over incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu.

The historic endorsement highlighted the first day of President Reuven Rivlin's crucial consultations with various party representatives. He's set to meet with all the parliamentary factions before selecting his candidate for prime minister, after a deadlocked repeat election made forming any new government a daunting task.

It is the job ofIsrael's largely ceremonial president to pickthe politician with the best chance of forming a stable coalition government. While usually a formality, this time Rivlin plays a key role after an election earlier this month in which neither of the top candidates has an outright majority of 61 members inthe 120-seat parliament.

Near-final results show Blue and White will be the largestsingle party in the new parliament with 33 of the 120 seats, whileNetanyahu's right-wing Likudwon 31 seats,three less than it had before. Withthe Arab bloc known as the Joint List deciding toend its usual policy of withholding support for any candidate inthe wake of elections, Rivlin could be promptedto askGantz to form a government.

This is the second time infive months that Likudfailed to secure a clear election victory. The centristBlue and White party led byGantzhas a slight lead with nearly all votes counted.

Gantz has so far rebuffed Netanyahu's calls to join a unitygovernment with both Likud and Blue and White joining.

"We want to bring an end to the era of Netanyahu, so werecommend that Benny Gantz be the one to form the nextgovernment," Joint List party head Ayman Odeh told Rivlin.

An increased turnout by Israel's 21 per cent Arab minoritysawthe Joint Listwin 13 seats, making it the third largestgrouping.Though the Arab-led parties have never sat in an Israeli government,Odeh said he is planning to become opposition leader in the case of a unity government. This is the first time since 1992 thatArab-led parties have endorsed a candidateby selecting Gantz over Netanyahu.

Netanyahu denounced the Arab party support of Gantz. He saidit meant only two choices:"a minority government that leanson those that reject Israel as a Jewish, democratic state," or a"broad national government."

Its support does not mean it will sit in the governingcoalition, but its backing gives Gantz's centre-left bloc 57seats, compared to Netanyahu's right-wing bloc of 55.

With that nod, Gantz looks to edgeNetanyahu in the number of lawmakers who will endorse him.

'This is what the people want'

In a meeting with Likud party leaders, Rivlin said it was upto the "two biggest parties, the first and second that arealmost equal in size, to join forces ... so that you togethermanage and establish a system that brings a stable government."

"This is what the people want. None of us can ignore that,"he said.

There were only narrow differences in the two main parties'campaigns on many important issues, and an end to the Netanyahuera would be unlikely to bring significant changes in policy onrelations with the United States, the regional struggle againstIranor the Palestinian conflict.

Netanyahu and Gantz will continue to seek potential coalitionallies, prominent among whom is the far-right former defenceminister Avigdor Lieberman. He secured eight seats for hisYisrael Beitenu party, making him a potential kingmaker.

Lieberman on Sunday reiterated his call for a unitygovernment and said he would not recommend either candidate inhis meeting with Rivlin.

Religious parties representing Israel's Ultra-Orthodoxcommunities, known as Haredim, remain a significant force, withShas winning nine seats and United Torah Judaism eight seats.

The right-wing Yamina won seven seats, the leftistLabor-Gesher six, and the Democratic Union five. Full officialresults are due to be published on Wednesday.