Published: 22 October 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday gave up on his month-long effort to negotiate a governing majority after September's dead-heat national election, opening the way for his chief rival to try his hand at cobbling together a coalition to run the country.
If Israel's President gives former army chief-of-staff Benny Gantz permission to proceed, he would be the first politician other than Netanyahu given the mandate to form a government in more than a decade, although his own path to power is far from certain.
Benjamin Netanyahu tells Israeli president he cannot form government (Guardian)
Opposition leader Benny Gantz will have 28 days to build coalition or risk fresh election
Netanyahu tells president he can’t form government; now it’s Gantz’s turn to try (Times of Israel)
Rivlin’s office says he intends to task Blue and White leader with assembling a coalition; PM blames Gantz for failed negotiations
Long after Netanyahu’s gone, Likud and the Right will suffer from post-cult trauma syndrome (Haaretz)
CHEMI SHALEV: The Israeli prime minister didn’t invent the right’s disdain for democracy and rule of law – he only exploited it
Photo: Prime Minister Netanyahu gestures while speaking during a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 war, in Jerusalem, October 10 (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)
