The Israeli President announced that he received the official election results on Wednesday and will begin consulting with the parties on forming a government. Isaac Herzog asked party leaders to be "open to innovative ideas and solutions" so that the country would not be dragged into new elections. He said that the election result is now a reality and all leaders must put aside stubborn positions and deal with this reality. Israel went to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. In the 120-seat parliament, the bloc aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu won 53 seats, the rival bloc won 48 seats, and the Arab parties won 19 seats. 61 seats are required to form a government. The share of the Arab parties is unprecedented and could give the anti-Netanyahu bloc a majority, but most members of this bloc refused to cooperate with these parties. Israeli media wrote that 60 representatives are set to nominate Gadi Eisenkot and 46 Netanyahu to the country's president. Two parties with a total of 14 mandates have not yet decided. The president must hand over the task of forming a government within seven days after the official publication of the result. The first candidate has 28 days and will receive an extension of 14 additional days.