ByGIL HOFFMAN
Updated:

Labor leader Merav Michaeli warned on Sunday that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz could end up joining another government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

She expressed concern about a statement that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz made on Saturday night at the Mimouna celebrations of the Ben Yishai family in Moshav Menahemia in the North.

"A catastrophe will befall us if a far-right government led by Netanyahu is formed, with racist elements, without a balance that will protect the well-being of the citizens," Gantz said.

Michaeli accused Gantz of “laying the groundwork to once again steal your votes.” She said what should happen is that the 61 MKs from parties that said they wanted to replace Netanyahu in the election should form a coalition and a government together “before Gantz once again crowns Bibi.”

Those 61 MKs include political kingmakers Naftali Bennett and Mansour Abbas.

“Merav, the election is over, so you can stop the mudslinging,” Blue and White tweeted in response. “We will not sit under Netanyahu and we will do everything possible to remove him from office. If you’re looking for likes on Twitter, don’t do it at our expense.”

Gantz convened his Blue and White faction on Sunday to discuss the party’s plans.

President Reuven Rivlin will host the 13 factions elected to the Knesset at the President’s Residence on Tuesday and ask them who they recommend to form the next government. He will announce who will receive his mandate on Wednesday.

Army Radio reported on Sunday that neither Abbas’s Ra’am (United Arab List), nor the Joint List of Hadash, Ta'al and Balad would recommend any candidate.