Israel’s parliament speaker Benny Gantz and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu missed a deadline to form a unity government on Thursday, prolonging the political crisis.
Netanyahu declared victory in the 2 March election. His Likud party led the way with 36 seats, ahead of Gantz’s Blue and White party, with 33 seats. However, 61 of parliament’s 120 legislators supported Gantz, giving him a slim majority.
Since then, Gantz and Netanyahu agreed a “national emergency” government aiming to tackle the coronavirus crisis. A rotation deal in which they would take turns as prime minister was reportedly proposed. Israel has 12,500 confirmed Covid-19 infections so far.
President Reuven Rivlin said that if they failed to meet his midnight deadline he would likely ask Israel’s parliament to nominate a candidate to become prime minister. Analysts say the decision could push Israel towards another election.
On Monday, Gantz and Netanyahu asked Rivlin for an extension of the deadline, insisting they were close to a deal. Rivlin gave them until the end of Wednesday. Israel was shut down until Wednesday evening for the last day of the Passover holiday, but both leaders confirmed they held talks.
Both Gantz and Netanyahu declined to comment on the status of their talks.
