Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, gives a thumbs-up on the evening of Israel's national election. ( Reuters: Shir Torem )
Israel's President Isaac Herzog has announced he will give Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival, Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a new coalition government.
The decision comes days after the president met with representatives from each of the parties that had secured seats in the next Israeli parliament, the Knesset, asking them for their recommendations for who should be given the task of trying to form a new coalition.
Most parties endorsed Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the centre-right Yashar party, to get the first chance.
Despite that, Mr Herzog said he would take the weekend to consider the issue, given he was concerned some parties were still vehemently opposed to working with each other.
At the centre of the debate is the issue of the Arab-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli parties, who hold a record 19 seats in the next Knesset.
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, and other right-wing parties, have sought to undermine their success and accuse them of stealing the election amid allegations of foreign interference in the election.
Without the Arab-Israeli parties, the Joint List and the United Arab List, Mr Eisenkot would need to convince the ultra-Orthodox parties previously in Mr Netanyahu's coalition to side with him.
Mr Herzog will invite Mr Eisenkot to his residence to formally offer him the chance to form a government at 5pm on Sunday local time, 2am AEDT.
In the first instance, Mr Eisenkot will have 28 days to form a coalition.
