Israeli opposition leaders meet Tuesday before government talks

Israel's Jewish opposition leaders will hold their first meeting since last week's parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported, citing Israeli media.

The meeting will bring together Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, Together leader Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, Democrats leader Yair Golan and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The leaders will gather at 11:30 a.m. local time, or 0930 GMT, at the Dan Acadia hotel in Herzliya, central Israel, to discuss how the bloc will coordinate its next moves.

President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to begin two days of consultations with parliamentary factions on Wednesday, before he selects a lawmaker to form the next government.

The election left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc with 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while the Jewish opposition parties won 48 and the Arab parties won 19.

Neither camp reached the 61 seats needed for a majority.

The Democrats, Together and Yisrael Beytenu have agreed to recommend Eisenkot to Herzog, giving him the support of all 48 opposition lawmakers.

The two Arab lists are also expected to back him, which could bring his total to 67 recommendations.

Such support would strengthen his chances of receiving the mandate, but the president is not obliged to pick the candidate with the most recommendations or the leader of the largest party.

Receiving the mandate would not automatically make Eisenkot prime minister or guarantee that he could form a government.

Lieberman has refused to join a government that includes Arab parties or depends on their votes, a major obstacle to turning the opposition's combined strength into a coalition.

Under Israel's Basic Law, the designated lawmaker has 28 days to assemble a government, and the president can extend that period by up to 14 days.