- Israel, Rivlin will entrust Gantz with the task of forming the new government
- Israel, Netanyahu sings victory but the unknown government remains
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March 16, 2020Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival, has promised to form "a government of national unity, as broad as possible, in a matter of days.""I will serve the voters of all parties and citizens of Israel. I will make efforts to cure the Israeli coronavirus society, as well as the virus of hatred and division," Gantz said after receiving the assignment to train. a new coalition from President Reuven Rivlin. "These are not normal days," he added. "Leaders need to put personal considerations aside."
It is not yet clear who could form a possible unity government. Gantz has invited Netanyahu to accept a unity agreement, but the Likud party has rejected the idea. According to the Times of Israel, Gantz allegedly called the leader of the Joint List today, the Arab list Ayman Odeh to co-opt him into the government. Even if his 15 seats will not be enough for him. The former chief of staff will also have to deal with Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beitenu and the list on the left.
The same president Reuven Rivlin who gave him the job after consulting all the parties - 61 deputies supported Gantz, compared to Netanyahu's 58 - had been the first to urge the ex-military "to move quickly to form a government ".
Netanyahu, whose party had only gotten three more seats than Gantz, 36 against 33, in the March 2 elections, the third in less than a year, had proposed running a "national emergency" government for six months to face the Covid-19 crisis. "A fourth election is impossible in this time of crisis," Rivlin thundered.