President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday began consulting with party leaders to discuss who should lead the country after no clear victor emerged from last week's general election.
Near-final results show Blue and White will be the largest single party in the new Knesset with 33 of the 120 seats, with Likud at 31 seats, three less than it had before.
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In a meeting with Likud leaders, Rivlin said it was up to the "two biggest parties, the first and second that are almost equal in size, to join forces ... so that you together manage and establish a system that brings a stable government."
"This is what the people want. None of us can ignore that," he said.
Under Israeli law, following an election, the Israeli president must give the MK with the most support in parliament a chance to form a government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz are now seeking potential coalition allies – Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, with eight seats, perhaps being the most important.
Lieberman on Sunday reiterated his call for a unity government and said he would not recommend either candidate in his meeting with Rivlin.
"We will not budge in any direction," Lieberman told reporters during a press conference. "Since Netanyahu and the Likud decided to form the bloc with ultra-Orthodox parties and with this messianic party [referring to the Yamina party], we cannot recommend Benjamin Netanyahu."
"As for Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz," Lieberman continued, "from what we can see he's preserving the option to form a government with the ultra-Orthodox and the Joint Arab List."
"I would like to stress that the ultra-Orthodox are a political opponent, not an enemy. As for the Joint List – they are definitely our enemy," he said.
Lieberman singled out the leader of the Arab faction, Ayman Odeh, who "boycotted Shimon Peres' funeral and in the same week he visited [Yasser] Arafat's grave in Ramallah. The same Odeh who would not sign an agreement with Meretz because they are a Zionist party."
On Sunday, in what has been called a "historic" decision by some on the Left, the Joint Arab List announced it was officially endorsing Gantz as the next prime minister.
MK Ahmad Tibi, who is also in the Joint Arab List, further tweeted: "Today we are making history; we are going to do everything it takes to bring down Netanyahu."
Lieberman, for his part, reiterated his desire to form a "national unity government" comprising the two biggest parties, Blue and White and Likud, adding that going to a third election over the argument of who is tasked by the president first or second would be "childish."
The current kingmaker wrote in a Facebook post Sunday night: "For all I care, they could flip a coin" to determine who serves first as prime minister under a rotation deal in a broad unity government.
"As we promised the public, Yisrael Beytenu will do everything to force the two largest parties to form a broad liberal government," he wrote.
An increased turnout by Israel's 21% Arab minority saw the Joint Arab List faction win 13 seats, making it the third-largest party.
Religious parties representing the ultra-Orthodox communities remain a significant force, with Shas winning nine seats and United Torah Judaism eight seats.
The right-wing Yamina party won seven seats; the left-wing Labor-Gesher won six; the Democratic Union won five. Full official results are due to be published next Wednesday.
