"This is the place to remind party heads and elected officials that this house, and I personally, are at your disposal for any serious and genuine conversation you may wish to hold. Any agreement that produces a stable government that gains the trust of the people will be welcomed," Rivlin said in his address to the party leaders who made it to the 23d convocation of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
The ceremony was held in the presidential residence in Jerusalem.
Rivlin is scheduled to hold consultations with them coming Sunday and mandate one of the party leaders with forming a new cabinet. The event will be broadcasted live. There is also a 28-day period allotted for coalition talks, with an extension possibility for up to two weeks.
On March 2, Israel held its third parliamentary elections in a year in a bid to resolve the political deadlock. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party nor the Blue and White alliance led by his centrist opponent, Benny Gantz, were able to form a coalition government following two inconclusive votes in April and September of last year.
Another ultra-religious party United Torah Judaism, the leftist bloc Labor-Gesher-Meretz, and the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party each got 7 seats. The far-right Yamina alliance concludes the list with six mandates.
