As Israel’s unprecedented political deadlock has persisted, there have been widespread calls for an interim, national unity government to combat COVID-19, which has infected more than 11,500 Israelis.
Israel’s parliament speaker Benny Gantz, with his former election rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was given 48 hours on Tuesday to reach a deal on an emergency unity government.
Gantz, an ex-military chief, has squared off against Netanyahu in three votes over the past year.
Following the most recent polls, a majority of lawmakers in Israel’s 120-person parliament, or Knesset, recommended Gantz try to form a government.
But his chances of forging a stable coalition were always remote, given the deep divisions within the anti-Netanyahu camp.
Top former Gantz allies have broken with the speaker since his decision last month to seek a deal with Netanyahu, arguing that the prime minister cannot be trusted to honour the terms of an accord.
In office since 2009, Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving premier and the first to be indicted while in office.
The premier denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, filed against him in January.
Netanyahu critics have charged that he will stop at nothing to make the indictments disappear, including pushing for a fourth vote in the hope of finally gaining a parliamentary majority that could push through legislation granting him immunity from prosecution.
