Rania R.a. Abushamala Israeli President Isaac Herzog will begin consultations Wednesday on choosing a lawmaker to form the next government, starting with smaller parliamentary factions in a departure from customary practice, his office said Monday.

The consultations will continue Thursday as opposition Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot moves toward securing a majority of lawmakers’ recommendations, despite disagreements that could prevent him from forming a coalition.

Herzog’s office said the meetings would begin at 5 pm local time (1500GMT) Wednesday, with factions invited in ascending order of their parliamentary strength to examine options for forming a government.

The decision to meet smaller factions first aims to allow a comprehensive assessment of the possibilities before consultations with larger parties and encourage fresh ideas, the statement said. Herzog has not ruled out an additional round of consultations if necessary.

Wednesday’s meetings will begin with Religious Zionism, followed by Shas and Yisrael Beytenu.

On Thursday, Herzog will meet United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, the Democrats, the United Arab List (Ra’am), the Joint List, Naftali Bennett’s Together party, Yashar and, finally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.

After completing the consultations and hearing the factions’ recommendations, Herzog will announce whom he will task with forming a government.

Last Tuesday’s parliamentary elections produced a divided 120-member Knesset, with neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor opposition parties securing the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, including 27 for Likud, seven for United Torah Judaism, seven for Otzma Yehudit, six for Shas and six for Religious Zionism.

Opposition parties secured 48 seats, including 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party, 12 for the Together party, eight for the Democrats and seven for Yisrael Beytenu.

Arab parties won 19 seats, with the Joint List securing 11 and Ra’am obtaining eight.

The results mean Netanyahu’s bloc is eight seats short of a majority, while opposition parties need another 13 lawmakers to reach 61.

Although the opposition and Arab parties together hold 67 seats, they have not agreed to form a governing coalition.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman refuses to join a government that includes Arab parties or relies on their parliamentary support, presenting a major obstacle to Eisenkot’s efforts.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported Monday that Lieberman would nevertheless recommend Eisenkot to receive the mandate.

Public broadcaster KAN reported that the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, were also moving toward recommending Eisenkot, while Bennett’s party announced its backing Sunday.

Arab lawmakers have signaled that they could recommend Eisenkot, potentially giving him an advantage over Netanyahu despite Likud being the largest party.

The Israeli president is not required to select the leader of the largest faction, but he can assess which lawmaker has the best prospect of forming a government.

Under Israel’s Basic Law, the lawmaker receiving the mandate has 28 days to form a government. The president may extend that period by up to 14 additional days. The proposed government must then win the Knesset’s confidence before taking office.