Israel: Gantz has 5 days until deadline to form government, Netanyahu does not yield to pressure

(Patria) – Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's proposal to form a unity coalition government has hit a dead end, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on obtaining parliamentary immunity that would protect him in the corruption and abuse of power trial against him.

Following the repeated elections in September, the outcome of which was similar to the previous ones in April in terms of the equal result of Benny Gantz's Blue and White alliance and Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud (except that this time Gantz had a one-seat advantage), Rivlin decided that Netanyahu would remain in the prime minister's seat, but would have to leave it in favor of Gantz if an indictment was filed against him.

Israeli Channel 13 reports that Gantz allegedly demands Netanyahu's resignation immediately after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announces the decision to indict the prime minister, which is likely to happen within the next 10 days. However, Netanyahu responded that he would not resign until the trial begins, which could happen in a few months. Rivlin proposed a compromise solution, which consists of Netanyahu leaving office when the indictment takes effect, which is still several months after the Attorney General's announcement.

This situation further frustrates Gantz, who promised before and during the April and September elections that he would not sit in a government with Netanyahu while he was under investigation or if an indictment was filed against him.

In Rivlin's proposal, Gantz clearly sees a 'loophole' that would allow Netanyahu – by remaining in office during the months preceding the court's final decision – to still manage to obtain immunity and avoid indictment.

The same media also reported that Netanyahu initially agreed to leave office during the trial (where Gantz would take over as interim prime minister), commenting: 'We will both be prime ministers.'

However, Rivlin warned him that this was impossible: 'There cannot be two prime ministers... When you leave, your powers are revoked.'

Rivlin also encouraged Gantz to consider something else that Gantz had been fighting against, and that is a coalition with right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties; Rivlin's goal seems to be an equal division of power, which would ultimately mean an equal number of ministers from each of the two largest parties.

The leader of the Blue and White alliance, Benny Gantz, has 5 days left until the deadline to form a government. In addition to insisting that Netanyahu resign due to his involvement in three cases of corruption and abuse of power, Gantz claims that he would not wait a moment to enter a unity government with Likud if Netanyahu left office.

The Times of Israel writes that Blue and White and Likud are constantly blaming each other for the stalemate in negotiations and failed attempts to form a government, which could ultimately lead to a third election in a year.