By GIL HOFFMANBlue and White leader Benny Gantz was given the mandate and 28 days to form a new government by President Reuven Rivlin(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz wrote scathing comments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday afternoon, just before Shabbat.Gantz lamented that no progress was made over the past week on forming a unity government with Likud."Apparently, Netanyahu's desire to win a few more months on the prime minister's chair is more important to him than his concerns for the citizens of Israel," Gantz wrote on Facebook. "The only way to understand Netanyahu's behavior is that he wants elections.Gantz called upon the leaders of parties in Netanyahu's political bloc to free him of his obligation to them and enable him to negotiate directly on a unity government without them. The New Right party issued a statement refusing the request and calling upon Gantz to join a right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu.President Reuven Rivlin will meet at his residence in Jerusalem with Gantz on Saturday night, at Gantz's request."The meeting is one of many that the president is convening with political officials in order to ensure that a government will be formed as soon as possible," a spokeswoman for Rivlin said.Rivlin will meet at the beginning of next week with the leaders of Shas, United Torah Judaism, Bayit Yehudi and the Joint List, the President’s Residence said late Thursday. Other party leaders are expected to follow suit.Sources close to Rivlin would not confirm a Channel 13 report that claimed that when he met together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gantz and revealed his compromise plan for a unity government, Rivlin recommended Netanyahu leave office when an indictment is filed to the courts.According to the compromise, which Likud supports openly and Blue and White has purposely not openly endorsed yet, Netanyahu would be prime minister first and then take an extended break while fighting corruption charges. According to the plan, Gantz would take Netanyahu’s place as prime minister when Netanyahu is incapacitated, after initially serving as vice prime minister.The two sides have fought over when Netanyahu would be considered incapacitated. Gantz has argued immediately upon his indictment, which Channel 13 reported on Thursday would take place by November 25. Likud has said when Netanyahu’s trial would begin. According to the report, Rivlin suggested as a compromise the filing of the formal indictment submission to the court, which a legal expert said would take place a few months after the indictment.Sources close to Rivlin said they cannot authorize what was said in a room of three people, and that the president did not endorse specific timing because he thinks the two sides need to decide together.
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