Netanyahu's chief rivals in Israel unite in bid to unseat him with coalition government

Last week, the chief political rival to Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, and former Netanyahu protégé Avigdor Lieberman agreed to jointly support legislation that would block Netanyahu or any other indicted member of Israel's Knesset (parliament) from forming a government. On Monday, Gantz announced that he would bid to form the next government with a coalition of his Blue and White party, Lieberman's secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, and the Arab-led Joint List coalition.

Last week's national election — Israel's third in less than a year — ended with neither Netanyahu's Likud party nor Gantz's center-left bloc getting the necessary 61 votes to form a majority government. Likud and its allies got the most seats, 58, and a coalition of Blue and White's bloc, Lieberman's party, and the Joint List would have 62 seats. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will decide whether to give Netanyahu or Gantz first crack at forming a government next week, after polling each of the eight parties in the Knesset on which leader they would most likely support. Netanyahu's corruption trial is set to begin March 17.

After meeting with Lieberman on Monday, Gantz said the two "discussed questions of fundamental principle and determined that we will work together to assemble a government that will pull Israel out of the political deadlock and advert a fourth round of elections." Gantz also met with senior Arab politicians.

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Actually coalescing into a government will be hard for Gantz, The Jerusalem Post reports. Lieberman has called Arab political leaders terrorists in the past, at least two of Gantz's Blue and White member publicly oppose forming a government with the Joint List, and three members of the Joint List's hardline Balad Party are unlikely to recommend Gantz to Rivlin. Passing legislation to block Netanyahu from forming a government is also tricky, even with majority support. You can read more at The Jerusalem Post.