Israel’s President Isaac Herzog delivers a speech during a tribute ceremony at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, southern France, on March 20, 2022. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told lawmakers that he will work on establishing an “enlarged unity government” after the next elections in November, media reported on Sunday.

Several members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, who were present during the closed-door conversations Herzog held with lawmakers from both left and right-wing parties, told Kan public broadcaster that he promised to reach this goal “at any cost.”

“I intend to roll up my sleeves after the elections and work towards the establishment – at any cost – of an enlarged unity government, insofar as possible, in order to bring stability to the system, because Israeli citizens are tired of these endless election cycles,” the president was quoted as saying ahead of the fifth elections in less than four years following the dissolution of the coalition government late June.

According to Kan’s unnamed sources, Herzog said that “when Israelis wake up in the morning, first and foremost they want to know that they have a stable government that cares about their security, the economy, and other pressing needs.”

“The larger a government, the more likely it is to be stable and actually work to benefit the interests of the country’s citizens,” added the president, who plays an important role in deciding who gets the mandate to form a government after the elections.

Earlier on Saturday, a poll conducted by Kan showed that Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition bloc is one seat short of forming a majority by securing 60 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.