• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Netanyahu Suffers Defeat in Failing to Form Israeli Government

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
10/22/19
in Featured, World
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 19, 2017

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Ronen Zvulun, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suffered an important defeat in his bid to hang on as premier by failing to form a new government, but his opponent faced similar difficulties on Tuesday.

Ex-military chief Benny Gantz is now expected to be given the chance to try to negotiate a coalition by President Reuven Rivlin, but a deadlock following September 17 polls remains and yet another election cannot be ruled out.

It would be the third election within a year after Netanyahu also failed to form a coalition after April polls.

Netanyahu’s decision to inform Rivlin on Monday night that he has been unable to form a government by no means signaled the end of his tenure as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

He remains premier as long as no new government is formed, and a number of scenarios exist that could see him retain his post even as he faces the possibility of corruption charges in the weeks ahead.

One of the few things clear in Israel’s post-electoral morass was that Netanyahu, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Monday, was not giving up.

But his announcement was a landmark moment in Israeli politics since Netanyahu has been given the president’s mandate to form a government after every election since 2009.

‘Obstructed’ 

When announcing his decision with a social media video, Netanyahu sought to blame Gantz since the ex-military chief has refused to negotiate on the premier’s preferred terms.

One of Netanyahu’s closest allies, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, argued Tuesday that the prime minister had been “obstructed” in negotiations.

“Disagreements don’t prevent negotiations,” he told Israel’s army radio.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is giving up his effort to form a new government after failing to form a coalition following an inconclusive parliamentary election https://t.co/ByJ8cVr4Xq pic.twitter.com/F6UGxMJ4NS

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 22, 2019

“To the contrary, one comes to negotiations when one begins with disagreements. Therefore, if Benny Gantz offers Netanyahu to sit down with him one-on-one, I’m confident that Netanyahu will sit with him.”

Israeli public television reporters caught up with Gantz outside his home after a workout on Tuesday morning.

“We’re always optimistic, it’s a way of life,” he said from behind the wheel of his car, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

A senior member of his centrist Blue and White alliance was strongly critical of Netanyahu.

“What has Bibi done with the mandate to build a government? Four weeks of nothing,” Ofer Shelah said on Twitter, using Netanyahu’s nickname.

“He passed the time in order to continue as prime minister for a little while longer … Bibi wants elections. That is obvious.”

Rivlin said Monday night he intends to ask Gantz to try to form a government, but he can take up to three days to hear out the parties elected to parliament before officially tasking him with doing so.

The Blue and White leader had no political experience before he mounted his challenge to the prime minister he once worked with as military chief of staff, but has now found himself at the doorstep of power.

Whether he can enter the office Netanyahu has held for a total of more than 13 years however is a challenge that could bedevil even the most skilled politicians.

While Netanyahu faces potential corruption charges, Gantz is the subject of a controversy of his own. In the Netherlands, a Dutch Palestinian man is invoking “universal jurisdiction” to seek damages from Gantz for alleged war crimes after his mother, three brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew were killed in 2014 when forces under Gantz’s command bombed a refugee camp in Gaza.

Disunity on Unity 

The deadlock following September 17 polls will likely require major concessions or a decision by members of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud to abandon him – and both of those options appear a long way off for now.

Both Likud and Blue and White say they want a unity government, but they are divided on how.

Likud has been seeking to negotiate based on a compromise set out by Rivlin that takes into account the possibility the premier will be indicted for corruption in the upcoming weeks.

It could see him remain prime minister for now, but step aside at some point later as he combats the charges.

Gantz would take over as acting premier under such a scenario.

Blue and White says Gantz should be prime minister first under any rotation arrangement since his party won the most seats, finishing with 33 compared to Likud’s 32.

Gantz also says Blue and White cannot serve in a government with a prime minister facing serious indictment.

Netanyahu has added a further complication to the coalition talks.

He has pledged not to abandon the smaller right-wing and religious parties that support him in parliament, saying he represents the entire bloc in coalition negotiations.

That condition is also unacceptable to Gantz, who says it would mean Blue and White joining a Netanyahu government as a junior member.


More on the Subject 

Netanyahu Faces Graft Hearing With Israeli Coalition Talks at Dead End

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Palestine war, Gaza
Middle East

Israel Refuses to Work With ICC on War Crimes Probe, Says ‘No Authority’

by Staff Writer
April 8, 2021
The Har Gilo settlement in the West Bank, with the city of Jerusalem seen in the background, October 13, 2020.
Middle East

Netanyahu Orders New Settlement in Israeli-Occupied West Bank

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2021
A Palestinian employee dressed as Santa Claus takes a customer's temperature at a cafeteria in Gaza City.
Middle East

Amnesty Calls on Israel to Give Palestinians Virus Vaccine

by Staff Writer
January 5, 2021
A view of porta cabins in Givat Hamatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of annexed East Jerusalem
Middle East

Israeli Protesters Taunt, Chase EU Envoys in Annexed East Jerusalem Area

by Staff Writer
November 16, 2020
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council Chair Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Burhan.
Middle East

Israel-Sudan Deal Welcomed as Palestinians Cry Foul

by Staff Writer
October 23, 2020
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Featured

Netanyahu’s Annexation, Brexit, and the Doctrine of National Self-Harm

by Nir Arielli
June 22, 2020
Next Post
Hurricane Dorian is seen approaching The Bahamas

Adapt, Abate, or Suffer – Lessons from Hurricane Dorian

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019

The Case for Pro-Trump Opposition to Ukrainian Influence

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post