Hundreds rally in Israel for government including Arab parties
Herzog is set to task Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government at a ceremony on Sunday.
Hundreds of people rallied across Israel on Saturday to press for a government that includes Arab parties and an end to Benjamin Netanyahu's rule, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
About 300 people gathered in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel, Haaretz reported.
Several hundred more protested in Habima Square in central Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported.
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv carried signs in Arabic and Hebrew reading "67 seats. Let's take a new path," a reference to the number of seats won by parties opposed to Netanyahu, including the Arab Joint List and Ra'am, in the 120-seat Knesset.
Protesters chanted, "Without partnership, there is no peace."
Others called for an end to "divide and rule" and demanded "freedom and equality for all."
Standing Together, a movement that promotes Jewish-Arab partnership and political equality, took part in the rally.
Some demonstrators also called for the release of journalist Abd Abu Shahadeh, whom Israeli media reported was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of contact with a foreign agent after travelling to Doha to interview former Knesset member Azmi Bishara.
The protests took place shortly before Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday that he will ask Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, Ynet reported.
Eisenkot is due to receive the mandate at a ceremony at the President's Residence on Sunday at 5 p.m. local time, the report said.
Parties opposed to Netanyahu won 67 seats in the election, while parties backing him won 53.
Most leaders of the opposition parties oppose forming a government that depends on Arab parties, and those opposition parties hold 48 seats between them, short of the 61 needed for a majority.
