Herzog faces pivotal choice as Israel's coalition deadlock persists

Israeli President Isaac Herzog must decide who gets the first chance to form a government after an inconclusive election left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot without a parliamentary majority. Herzog will name a candidate on Sunday. Eisenkot has backing from 67 lawmakers, including Arab-led parties, but has ruled out bringing them into his coalition. Netanyahu holds 46 endorsements, short of his bloc's 53 seats after United Torah Judaism withheld support over a conscription dispute. If no government forms, the Knesset could dissolve and trigger a new election within 90 days, leaving Netanyahu as caretaker prime minister. Analysts see this impasse as the likely outcome.