On Monday, Israel held its third election in less than a year to try and break a deadlock in government formation. On Wednesday, the right-wing Likud party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, slipped further away from reaching a majority in Parliament, while rival Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party gained a seat. With 99% counted votes, Likud now has 35 seats and Blue and White has 32 out of the total 120 seats in the Knesset.
Netanyahu currently faces criminal charges for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust. As a result, the Israeli Movement for Quality Government on Tuesday filed a petition in the High Court of Justice arguing that he must be barred from forming the next government. Blue and White members, too, plan to promote a bill that bars indicted officials from serving as Prime Minister. However, since this requires assent from both the Joint List and the Yisrael Beiteinu, even officials from the party have admitted that the chances of the bill getting passed are abysmal. Rather, this seems like a tactic to pressure Netanyahu to form a unity government.
The Likud is now eyeing dozens of Blue and White seats as potential defectors in the hope to make up Netanyahu’s desired majority. President Reuven Rivlin is most likely to set the deadline for government formation on or before 17 March, which is the day that Netanyahu's criminal trial will begin.
Image Source: The Times of Israel