Hebrew Channel: Deal for Netanyahu to assume premiership in rotation with Eisenkot

It explained: "It is a dramatic political deal that may allow for the formation of the next government."

It continued: "According to the proposed plan, it concerns a rotation government in which Benjamin Netanyahu would serve as prime minister first for two additional years, and in return, he pledges to retire from political life permanently and receives a full pardon."

It added: "This is a move that Herzog has been pushing for two years, long before the election campaign and before the results appeared, and it currently seems the most realistic option if the map of seat distribution remains as it is."

According to the channel, "If this scenario is realized, Netanyahu is expected to insist on assuming the premiership first within the framework of the rotation, among other things, so that he can work during the next two years alongside US President Donald Trump, and not miss such a historic opportunity."

Herzog's office denied the accuracy of the report in its response to the channel, stating: "Pure lies, it never happened at all. We do not deal with speculations regarding the procedures for assigning the formation of the government."

It added: "The official election results will not be presented to the President of the State until next Wednesday, and after that, the President will hold consultations with the parliamentary blocs and will consider matters according to the powers and broad discretion granted to him by law."

On Wednesday evening, after 85 percent of the votes were counted, excluding the double-envelope ballots, preliminary results of the Israeli elections showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp obtained 53 seats, compared to 48 for the "Change" bloc led by "Yeshar" party leader Gadi Eisenkot, while the Arab lists obtained 19 seats, according to the Israeli "Channel 12".

Thus, none of the parties were able to secure the necessary majority to form a government, which is 61 seats out of 120 in the Knesset (Parliament).

Vote counting continues, including the votes of soldiers, prisoners, diplomats, and patients in hospitals (double-envelope ballots), amid a discrepancy between the partial results and the exit polls announced on Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday evening, the Election Committee announced that the voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, an increase of 7.1 percent over the 2022 elections, stating it was the highest since 1999.

For years, Netanyahu has been on trial in corruption cases involving bribery, fraud, and breach of trust; he is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes in Gaza.

Since late 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu has been leading a far-right government, described as the most extremist in Israel's history, and elections are scheduled for next October 27.