Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has decided to task ex-chief of staff and Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival Benny Gantz with forming a government, that is after he receives the 61 seats needed to do so.
Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz will now have 28 days to succeed in completing a task that both he and Netanyahu have failed twice to accomplish – forming a coalition.
Speaking at a ceremony where he received the mandate from the president, Gantz vowed that he “would do everything in his power” to establish a broad government within days that “represents all Israel’s citizens”.
New Government? Not So Fast
But, as previous rounds have proven, that won’t be easy. Gaining only 33 seats in the recent general polls, Gantz will need the support of other parties to reach the magic number of 61 that would give him the keys to become Israel’s PM.
And that includes the seats of the Labour-Meretz bloc as well as Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu, who received six and seven seats respectively.
Yet, that still won’t be enough. To succeed in the task, Gantz will also need the backing of the Joint Arab List, a coalition of four Arab parties, who secured an unprecedented 15 seats becoming Israel’s third largest faction – support they are willing to give under certain conditions that include the promotion of equality between Jews and Arabs and a change of policy towards Palestinians.
Dancing with the Enemy?
However, for many Israelis these demands are unacceptable because a coalition based on the support of Arab parties is considered a red line.
Many have even taken to social media platforms to vent their anger.
The Joint Arab List has a complicated relationship with Israel’s Jewish population. While some 20,000 Israelis voted for them in the recent elections, many others find it difficult to relate to their agenda, which is very often critical of Israel.
In 2008, for example, long before the four parties merged into a unified list, Ayman Oudeh, the leader of the bloc was quoted as saying that all Palestinian factions, including Hamas – considered a terrorist organisation by Israel – should come together to fight a common enemy, “the Israeli occupation”.
On another occasion, he spoke of incitement against “the occupation” and has visited Palestinian prisoners jailed for terrorism offences, sparking condemnation from many Israelis.
Oudeh was not alone: in 2019, Israeli press published a list of Israeli parliamentarians who made similar visits. Many of them were Arab Members of the Knesset (MKs).
Other tweeps seem to agree.
“Gantz and Ayman Odeh heading one big Joint List of terror supporters, anti-Zionists, and anti-Semites”, one user quipped.
Since December 2019 when the third election campaign kicked off, Gantz has been zigzagging between vows to stay away from the Joint Arab List to promises on becoming a prime minister for all Israelis, Jews and Arabs alike.
That’s why some are now feeling betrayed accusing the former chief of staff of selling Israel’s security for political gain.
Ultimate Goal – Removal of Netanyahu
Others, however, were less concerned about cooperation with the Arab alliance. For them, the top priority is the removal of Netanyahu from office.
Similar demands were voiced by another surfer.
In a time of a crisis, however, promises are often broken. As the numbers of those infected by the coronavirus continue to climb, calls urging Gantz to form a unity government with Netanyahu have intensified.
According to a recent poll, conducted by Israeli Channel 12, 65 percent of Israelis expressed support for an emergency unity government of Netanyahu and Gantz, with 26 percent rejecting the move.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
