Posted on 03/09/2020 1:14:52 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief rival said Monday that he has agreed with a smaller party to work together to form a new government following national elections last week.
The announcement by Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party, dealt a new setback to Netanyahu as he struggles to hold on to power ahead of his upcoming trial on corruption charges.
In a statement, Gantz said that he had a good meeting with Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the small Yisrael Beitenu party.
“We discussed questions of fundamental principle and determined that we will work together to assemble a government that will pull Israel out of the political deadlock and advert a fourth round of elections,” Gantz said.
In last week’s election, Israel’s third in under a year, Netanyahu’s Likud Party emerged as the largest party. But with his smaller religious and nationalist allies, he secured only 58 seats in parliament, three short of the required 61-seat majority needed to form a new government.
Netanyahu’s opponents, led by Gantz, control a majority of seats. But beyond their shared animosity toward Netanyahu, there are deep divisions between these parties, which include Lieberman’s secular, ultranationalist party and the Arab-led Joint List.
Gantz’s announcement with Lieberman marked a step toward unifying those anti-Netanyahu forces, though it remains unclear whether they can reach a final agreement, much less a deal with Arab politicians. Lieberman has in the past branded Arab political leaders as terrorist sympathizers.
“We’ll continue to discuss the details, formulate our common objectives, and move forward,” Gantz said.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Cue the “Aw Jeez, not this **** again” man.
Yeah, I'm sure that'll work. /s
I thought he had won decisively! Everybody was celebrating his victory what the hell happened?
Avigdor!
Bibi shouldn’t have gone after his kids. It’s his undoing
What did he do to Liarman’s kids?
News a few hours ago, Lierberman and the Arab List have endorsed Gantz for PM, 61 votes.
This just means he gets the chance to try and form a government not that he will, but it doesn’t look good.
I wish the Bibi-can-do-wrong FReepers would get their heads out of their butts. All of this could have been prevented if Bibi simply stepped aside as party leader. Likud would have selected someone else as PM and Israel would have had a Likud lead government
I wish the Bibi-can-do-no-wrong FReepers would get their heads out of their butts. All of this could have been prevented if Bibi simply stepped aside as party leader. Likud would have selected someone else as PM and Israel would have had a Likud lead government.
Impy, if you’re pinging to these Israeli articles, be sure to add FReeper Eleutheria5, who is in Israel and can offer a unique perspective on the ground there.
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