President Isaac Herzog is set to task a candidate with trying to form a government, following two days of talks with party leaders and officials after an inconclusive election.

So Trump's unexpected statement during a Fox News interview this week that he would stop $3.8bn (3.4bn euros; £2.8bn) in US military aid to Israel two years earlier than planned, caused shock here – not so much for the loss of aid as for what the move said about Israel's status as a diplomatic partner.