Israeli opposition leaders Bennett, Eisenkot discuss forming government ‘as quickly as possible’

Israeli opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot met Thursday to discuss ways to form a new government “as quickly as possible” following parliamentary elections that left neither main political bloc with a majority, the Ynet newspaper reported, Anadolu reports.

Bennett, a former prime minister and leader of the Together party, and Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, held talks at Bennett’s home in Ra’anana.

In a statement issued on their behalf, the two leaders said they discussed “ways to establish a good government in Israel as quickly as possible.”

It did not indicate whether the two had reached an agreement on forming a coalition.

The meeting came as the Central Elections Committee announced the completion of the counting of special ballots from Tuesday’s parliamentary elections.

The latest results show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats, opposition parties 48 and Arab parties 19 in the 120-member Knesset.

Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition parties secured the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.