What Happened?
Former Israeli Military Chief Benny Gantz won the endorsement from Israeli lawmakers and President Reuven Rivlin to form a new government for the country Sunday, March 15, according to the New York Times.
As leader of the centrist Blue and White party, Gantz was formally assigned the mandate to form Israel’s new government by Rivlin Monday, March 16.
Gantz, along with supporting coalition parties, have accrued the 61 votes needed to form a new government from the 120 seats in the Knesset — enough to have Rivlin declare him leader, according to Financial Times.
In Context
Gantz’s victory comes after multiple inconclusive election results throughout 2019 and 2020.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party declared victory on the election held Monday, March 2, but they did not have as much support from Arab and Israeli lawmakers as Gantz, according to the Independent.
Netanyahu has challenged Gantz’s win, saying that because of the outbreak of COVID-19, he should stay in charge of Israel, according to NPR.
On Twitter, Netanyahu said Gantz should either join an emergency government with Netanyahu leading it for six months, or form a unity government that allows the incumbent to stay prime minister for the next two years before Gantz begins his term.
Gantz rejected the prime minister’s proposal and accused Netanyahu of manipulation on Twitter. Gantz also made mention of the corruption trial against Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has been prime minister of Israel since 2009 and was recently to go on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust until coronavirus concerns pushed the trial date back, according to the Independent.
The Latest
On Monday, March 16, Rivlin officially gave the mandate to Gantz at the President’s Residence, according to the Jerusalem Post. The mandate is for four weeks.
Gantz has 42 days maximum to build a coalition government. One of the goals of his party is to block Netanyahu from building a new government and to effectively end his 11-year rule.
Gantz said that he would “serve people who voted for Blue and White, people who voted for Likud and people who voted for every other party, both right and left,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
In a meeting before Gantz received the mandate, negotiations were said to be held between the Blue and White and Likud parties to form a national unity government.
Despite this, Blue and White party members passed bills Monday targeting Netanyahu for his time spent in office and corruption trial.
