Benny Gantz, main opponent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the country's general election, says he should be prime minister in a broad unity government
Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White, prepares to shake hands as he arrives to deliver a statement before his party faction meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel. September 19, 2019.
The leader of the right-wing Likud voiced disappointment at his election challenger's rejection of his offer to discuss forming an Israeli unity government but said he remained open to talks. With nearly all votes counted on Thursday, the centrist Blue and White party stood at 33 seats in Israel's 120-seat parliament."Everyone will need to get off their high horse to prevent elections for the third time," Likud lawmaker David Bitan told Israeli Army Radio. Neither party can form a government of at least 61 seats without the support of the election's apparent kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beitenu party.
The candidate has 42 days to do so and if he fails, the president can give another candidate 28 days to form a coalition. The deadlock follows the second Israeli elections this year, which were called because Netanyahu failed to cobble together a coalition following the April vote. The vote was largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who this summer surpassed Israel's founding prime minister to become the country's longest-serving leader.
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